


Learning to Trust

by SleepyxAsh



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Everyone has a strange age, F/M, I just wanted to put it up just in case, M/M, Mainly Madara/Tobirama, Very brief implications about suicide, You'll get used to it quickly, You'll see what I mean when you read, and Kakashi/Iruka, it's not so bad, it's nothing serious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-17 16:09:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 60,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13662516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepyxAsh/pseuds/SleepyxAsh
Summary: (I know that the title sucks) Ten years after a virus has caused the majority of the world's population to lose their minds, there are few people alive, and even fewer are still sane. When a group of nomads collide with a couple of scouts from an established colony, tempers almost immediately flare, but what happens when they have to work together to ensure their survival?





	1. Chapter 1

Tobirama held his breath as he covered Kushina’s mouth, stopping the redhead from breathing too loudly. She was heavily pregnant and didn’t do sprinting very well anymore. They were hiding in the bathroom of an abandoned house somewhere toward the center of the Fire Country. She was leaning against him, her eyes wide in alarm, and Tobirama couldn’t say he blamed her. They had no weapons, and there was an infected outside of the door.

Tobirama debated options as he looked around the room. There wasn’t anything left to be used as a weapon. Even the lid to the toilet had been removed and taken. Tobirama leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I want you to wait behind the door. I’m going to open it and rush him. Close the door when I’m out, alright?”

She shook her head and backed away to look at him. “No,” she hissed. “That’s insane! He’ll kill you!”

She was probably right, but it was the only option that Tobirama saw as viable. Kushina was pregnant, and he wasn’t about to let her fight. They’d been separated from the rest of the group earlier, and Tobirama had promised Minato that he’d do whatever he had to do to take care of her. He wasn’t about to go back on it now.

“I gave Minato my word that I would keep you safe,” Tobirama told her. “I’m not going to break that promise, Kushina. We can’t stay in here.”

She looked as though she wanted to cry. Tobirama cursed her hormones for making her overly emotional and shook her gently. “Listen to me,” he said. “Everything is going to be alright. We’re going to do this, and then we’re going to find the others. No worries at all. If you’re not going to stay calm for my sake, then think about little Naruto.” He placed a hand on her distended belly. “He’s going to be born soon. You have to stay alive for him, alright. The only way that we’re going to make it out of this is if you do what I tell you to do.”

Her face immediately calmed after this. Her purple eyes blazed with the fire that Tobirama was so used to seeing as she firmly nodded her head. “You listen to me, Tobirama,” she whispered. “You better get out of this without a single scratch, or I’ll beat the hell out of you.”

Tobirama couldn’t stop his smile at her words. Most people that they came across were frightened of him because of his build, height, appearance, and overall sour disposition. It was always nice to know that there were some people that weren’t intimidated by him at all. Kushina was always the person that he went to whenever he needed his big head deflated. “I’ll try my best,” Tobirama murmured to her. “I’ll be back soon.”

She nodded and got to her feet. Her stomach was huge, but she wasn’t anywhere near finished. Tobirama remembered his own mother waddling around just before she’d given birth to his younger brothers, and Kushina wasn’t quite at that point yet. He followed her to the door, and Tobirama motioned for her to get behind it. “I want you to close the door behind me when I get out, alright?” he repeated

“I remember,” Kushina said. “I will. Just worry about yourself.”

Tobirama nodded and pressed his ear against the door. He could hear the low, psychotic growl emanating from the other side as a pair of agitated feet quickly pattered about in an erratic and uncoordinated pattern. For the infected to be so mindless, they were powerful and fast. Tobirama held his breath for a moment, gathering his courage, before he twisted the knob and swung it open and ran through to the bedroom on the other side. He heard the air behind him push forward in a _whoosh_ , causing his hair and clothes to flutter around him, as the door slammed shut.

He frantically looked around for anything to use as a weapon, as he heard the same growl again, except this time it was a lot louder with no door to muffle the noise. He swore as he realized that there was nothing for ease of use yet and his head snapped up, immediately eyeing the infected that was across the room from him. He was pale, and the majority of the hair had fallen from his head. His irises had turned black, making it impossible to identify any pupil at all. His teeth had sharpened, creating two parallel rows of serrated weapons. The infected had on no shirt, and Tobirama could see the dirt and grime smeared all over his skin.

It was standing still, looking at him from across a ruined bed. His lips were pulled back, showing off his sharpened teeth in a feral snarl that almost looked like an insane smile. Tobirama was closer to the doorway than the infected, and there was a good chance that he would be able to get out, but he didn’t know what was in store for him downstairs either. He’d heard the sound of kicking and fighting going on from down there maybe five minutes before when he and Kushina had run to hide.

He took one last look around the room and realized that he didn’t have much of a choice. Even the drawers from the dresser had been taken away. He had nothing to defend himself with. Cursing, he forced himself to turn and run, not even sparing a look back at the bathroom door. He knew that the infected would follow him and leave her alone. They weren’t very intelligent, and would give chase to obvious targets, and not think to look for hidden ones.

As soon as he started moving, the infected one did too. He could see it out of the corner of his eye and could hear its fierce growl turning even more sinister as it began to give chase. He made it to the open door and dashed outside. He ran into a short and wide hallway that opened into a large platform overlooking the first floor. He rushed toward the balustrade and allowed himself a glance over his shoulder. The infected was still behind him, its arms moving around wildly. Tobirama grimaced at the sight of fresh blood on its fingertips.

He came to a stop inches away from the railing and turned around fully. The creature never stopped running, and Tobirama tensed himself. His idea was insane and crazy. There was only a small chance that it would actually work, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He had to time it just right…. As soon as the infected was in reach, Tobirama stretched out his arms and gripped at his opponent’s shoulders. He quickly sidestepped and pulled on the infected, using its momentum against it. The man kept running, moving too fast to stop itself, and crashed right through the ornamental railing, falling until it crashed to the ground. The fall probably hadn’t been far enough to kill it, but Tobirama was confident that it would do the job of at least keeping it immobile for a little while.

Panting, he rushed down the staircase, weary of what else might be inside. There was no more noise. He closed of the part of himself that was terrified that the others were dead as he quickly made his way to the fallen infected. He leaned down and got a firm grip on the top of his head and the chin and wrenched sideways as quickly and with as much force as he could administer. The loud snapping noise that echoed in the still air told Tobirama that the infected wouldn’t be getting back up anytime soon.

He heard loud and fast footsteps echoing through the home and immediately stood back up. He was out of tricks for the moment and didn’t know how he was going to fend off another attacker if one presented itself. A moment later, a head of messy blond hair met his eyes. Wide, concerned blue eyes flashed as they saw that Tobirama was the only person in the room. “Are you alright?” Minato questioned.

“Fine,” Tobirama said as he tried his best to catch his breath. It had been a while since he’d had a proper meal, and he was starting to feel the malnutrition seeping down to his bones. “Kushina’s upstairs. Bathroom of the last bedroom on the left. She’s fine, just a bit anxious. Where are the others?”

“Fighting off three infected,” Minato said. “They told me to come in here and see if you guys were alright.”

“Damn it, Hashirama!” Tsunade’s voice hit Tobirama’s ears. “Look at your arm!”

Tobirama looked at Minato, who smiled a strained smile. “Looks like they finished them off,” he said weakly. “I think Hashi got scratched.”

“It’s a good thing that Tsunade is a medic,” Tobirama muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You should probably go and get Kushina. She’s probably about to turn from determination to hysterics.”

Minato nodded and dashed up the stairs without another word. Tobirama, on the other hand, walked through the large archway that led into the kitchen. He saw blood spattered everywhere. A mutilated corpse was laying on the counter top. It’s head was smashed in, and Tobirama didn’t care to look close enough to determine a gender. He pointedly looked away from it as he stepped over another dead body and walked closer to the other three people that were standing at the other side of the kitchen. His brother, a tall man with long, brown hair was standing in between a blond, busty woman, and tall, broad man with long white hair.

His brother, Hashirama, was smiling nervously as he held onto his left arm, cradling it close to his chest, away from the busty woman, Tsunade. She had her hand out, glaring at him threateningly. Jiraiya was behind Hashirama, looking as though he was unsure of what to do.

“Give me your arm, idiot,” Tsunade growled at him. “We don’t have time for your stupidity!”

“It’s only a scratch!” Hashirama protested hastily. “Honestly, you don’t have to look at it!”

“I don’t believe you,” Tsunade informed him coldly. “Now, let me see your arm, or so help me, I’m going to rip it off!”

Hashirama cowered back, nearly bumping into Jiraiya. He turned around and looked at the man behind him with wide, pleading eyes. Jiraiya wisely backed up and shook his head in denial. “I don’t think so, Hashirama,” Jiraiya said, putting his hands up in front of him, as if to block out any association that he might have with Hashirama. “Let her look at it!”

“I don’t want to!” Hashirama pouted. “She always hurts me when she’s annoyed!”

“I don’t think that you have much of a choice right now,” Jiraiya said. “I think she might have been serious about ripping your arm off, and I’m not going to protect you if that happens. She might rip mine off instead!”

Tsunade’s temper was one of the only things that anyone in their small group was afraid of anymore. The blond was very volatile, and no one wanted to piss her off. Kushina, who had spent all of her teen years with no other woman than Tsunade as a role model, had developed a temper very close to hers. Tobirama had a sneaking suspicion that Minato secretly liked that most about her. Tobirama guessed that he could understand wanting someone that was fearsome, the trait was attractive to him as well, but he didn’t know if he could be like Minato and Kushina. The thought of loving someone in this hellish world didn’t seem like a good idea, and he definitely couldn’t see the appeal of bringing a child into this kind of a world.

“Tobi!” Hashirama said excitedly, knocking him out of his stupid thought process, sounding as though he had never been as happy to see his younger brother. “Please, tell Tsunade that I’m fine!”

Tobirama gave him a thoroughly unimpressed look and said, “Really? Because you look as though you just escaped from a psyche ward. Did the creature that scratched you give you the infection?”

Hashirama paled at the insinuation and immediately thrust his arm toward Tsunade. “Please tell me that I’m not going to turn into one of the infected!”

“Don’t be stupid, Hashirama,” Tsunade snapped at him as she grabbed his arm and looked at it. “The virus only lives in warm, wet climates. You already know that the only way that you can contract is from saliva from a bite. Honestly, sometimes I question whether you and Tobirama are actually related.”

Hashirama’s lip jutted out as he pouted. Tobirama wondered how his brother was somewhere around twenty-seven years old and still managed to act like a child. Honestly, it was astonishing sometimes.

“You should have let him believe it, Tsunade,” Tobirama muttered as he walked further into the room. “He wouldn’t put up much of a fight if you did.”

“You’re probably right,” Tsunade sighed as she wrenched Hashirama toward the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Jiraiya wordlessly shrugged off the pack that was on his back and set it on the floor. He leaned over and stuck his hand inside of it, sifting through whatever was inside before he came back up with a first-aid kit. He handed it over to Tsunade, who wasn’t even looking. Her hand was simply stretched out, waiting for it. Those two worked seamlessly together, though he supposed that was what happened when they’d been friends for nearly thirty years, meeting when they were merely five years old.

“You’re all okay!” Kushina’s happy voice hit his ears. He turned around and saw a red blur before she was buried into his chest, her arms wrapped around him tightly. Normally, he wasn’t a fan of close-contact with anyone at all, but it wasn’t as though he was going to be able to tell her no, especially not in her condition. He looked over at Minato, who was smiling helplessly at him, as if saying _there’s nothing I can do!_ Tobirama rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her gently.

“I told you that I’d be fine,” Tobirama said. “There was no need to worry at all. You just worry about little Naruto and leave the rest to us.”

“I hate being this helpless!” Kushina wailed. “I should have been able to help you!”

“You’re not helpless, Kushina,” Tobirama told her. “You’re just protecting something very important. You’re protecting it now, and you’ll be protecting it once it’s born. The baby is extremely important to all of us.” Tobirama didn’t like using specific genders for the unborn child. There was no way of telling if it was going to be a boy or a girl. Minato and Kushina were both certain that the baby was going to come out as a boy, hence the masculine name that they all referred to it as.

“He’s right,” Minato said. Jiraiya walked away from where Tsunade was cleaning Hashirama’s arm, and over to them. He placed a hand on Minato and Kushina’s shoulders. “We’re all family here, Kushina. There’s no need to feel as though you should be doing more than what you’re doing now. You’re doing fine, and no one is upset or blames you for being in the condition that you’re in.”

“I love you guys,” Kushina said. “I can’t wait until little Naruto is here so that he can love his family as much as I do.”

“As much as I hate to break up this heartwarming moment,” Tsunade said, “we’re going to need to stop somewhere and pick up a good first aid kit. The cut was too deep, and I’m not going to be able to fix it with what I have here.”

Tobirama sighed and closed his eyes at his brother’s blatant carelessness. Sometimes he hated his family as much as he loved them.

 

"I hate my family," Madara muttered to himself as he looked at the passenger seat of the old and beat up truck that he was currently driving. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. He didn't _hate_ his family, but Izuna was definitely on his shit list at the moment. How the hell does someone fall asleep when they were supposed to be reading the damn map for directions? Why was he so useless?

He looked back at the road, casually swerving out of the way of an abandoned RV and righting himself again. It didn't really matter which side of the road that he used, it wasn't as though there were many drivers out, taking joy rides anymore, but even after so long, he still couldn't kick the habit of driving in the correct lane. Izuna had made fun of him when he'd realized that Madara had still done so. His younger brother hadn't been driving when the apocalypse had come about, killing off most of the world's population and turning the infected survivors into raging, cannibalistic murderers. He'd only been fifteen and had gone the day before the outbreak happened to get his beginner's permit. He'd failed the test and hadn't driven a vehicle until after the world had ended. Driving still wasn't one of Izuna's fortes, which was why Madara was the one behind the wheel.

He heard a low snore and looked over incredulously. Izuna was really sleeping hard over there. This was ridiculous. They had just left the compound not five hours before. Sure, Madara was familiar with the backroads for at least another two hours, but he didn't see how his brother felt as though it was alright to take a nap while he had to stay awake and drive.

"Some scout you are," Madara grumbled.

 

Maybe four hours later, Madara stopped the truck. The colony had yet to venture this far out for supplies. The back roads didn't offer much in terms of food, but there were a few convenience stores and gas stations around. The area was a lot less populated, so there was always a good chance that nothing had been tampered with, and there were still things around to be salvaged. Izuna, looking more than a little well-rested from his nap, yawned loudly and stretched languidly as he stepped onto the ground.

Madara pursed his lips at him but said nothing as he reached in and grabbed a knife out of the back seat and a baseball bat. It might seem stupid, but it was the best way to keep one's self safe from the infected that roamed around. Guns were great, and all, but they were rarely used, if ever. Loud noises attracted the infected, normally in hoards so large that it was impossible for anyone to get out alive, guns or no guns. It was better using a melee weapon that could kill more silently.

"You ready?" Madara asked his younger brother.

Izuna nodded as he looked over his machete. He'd had a rather beautiful sword that he'd taken a liking to, and had used with a surprising amount of skill, but it had been lost the last time that he and Madara had made a run for supplies.

"I'm about as ready as I'll ever be," Izuna replied. He walked around the old Chevy and stood at the front, waiting for Madara, who was just moments behind him.

"Be careful," Madara said to him quietly. He knew that the order was unnecessary. Izuna was a smart man and knew how to take care of himself, but he doubted that he would ever stop worrying about him. Izuna gave him an unimpressed look and rolled his eyes, as if saying _I'm always careful._

"Alright," Madara said, immediately moving on. "You want to do a quick outside check while I take a look around the store?"

"Sure," Izuna said, taking a step forward. "If you find any candy, however, I get first dibs!"

Madara snorted and nodded as Izuna bounded off toward the back of the gas station. Madara took off at a more sedate pace toward the entrance of the building. The glass windows and doors were still intact, which was a good thing, though it really didn't mean much. The infected could still be inside. They weren't very bright and lacked most common sense while they were in their rages, but they still had intelligence. They were able to communicate and managed to get basic words out. They knew how to use doors, and some of the smarter ones could even wield basic weapons, such as sticks and knives. Hell, Madara had come across one infected that had sensed prey and had hidden to surprise them.

The thought was horrifying, to say the least. Those creatures were hellbent on killing all non-infected humans. He didn’t like the fact that they were still somewhat sentient. He didn’t know if he would have rather them be like the stupid zombie movies that he watched before the world had gone to hell or not, but at least the zombies had been stupid and slow for the most part. These creatures were angry, had some mental capacity, and weren’t slow in the least. Not to mention that their anger made them volatile. It was impossible to know what they were going to do, and their unpredictability was what made them truly dangerous.

He slowly opened the door and took a step inside. The fact that there wasn’t anything rushing at him was very encouraging. He looked around, not bothering to walk further in until he had a good idea of the size of the space. If there were any potential enemies, he liked the idea of being closer to an escape than further away from it.

The store was dark, and dust seemed to cover everything, even coating the air that he was breathing in, leaving a nasty taste on his tongue. Some aisles were knocked over, and ruined snacks littered the floor. Everything looked totally wrecked for the most part, but he could see a few things that would come in handy later on. He saw a couple of gas cans sitting on their sides at the other side of the room. After he was finished looking around, he’d be sure to fill up on the precious resource, both in the truck and in those cans.

He took a weary step further in and fished out a flashlight from his pocket. It was only a small one, but it worked well enough. A small amount of light allowed Madara to see well enough with minimal strain and made it less likely that an infected would be alerted if there was one in the vicinity.

He moved toward the gas cans almost hungrily. These were rare these days, and Madara was always excited to see them. He grinned as he picked the first one up, setting down his baseball bat as he examined it. It was in perfect condition. There were no cracks in the plastic. It was sturdy and would last for years and years. This was a priceless jackpot.

“Don’t move.”

The voice was low and threatening. Madara froze, his heart stuttering in surprise. He automatically turned toward the noise, and he heard a low click that rang through the air clearly.

“Didn’t I just say not to move, idiot?” the voice snarled. He saw the man behind the voice. He had wild white hair. His skin was pale, and he had startlingly red eyes. There were three red marks on his face, one on his chin and two on his cheeks, all pointing toward the center of his façade. It was almost as though they were placed their purposely. He was tall, and his build was fairly thick, though Madara could tell that it was all muscle, even through the ragged clothes that covered his frame.

“What do you want?” Madara questioned.

“I don’t think that matters right now,” the man said. “What matters is that you’re not supposed to move. Put the gas can down and step away from the baseball bat.”

“Are you seriously going to be stupid enough to fire that gun?” Madara questioned, nodding toward the handgun that the man had held out, pointing at him threateningly. “You seriously want to call _me_ the idiot? Honestly, if you fire that, you’ll bring hoards of the infected out toward us. I don’t think either of us want that.”

“And how do you know that I even care about that?” the man challenged to him. His eyes were narrowed at him. Madara couldn’t read him. He didn’t know what the man was thinking. He might have been serious, or he could be bluffing. There was no way that he could tell. The only thing that Madara knew for sure was that he was completely calm, and his eyes were cold.

Madara sighed and dropped the can. He took a step back and held his hands up by his head. The knife in his pocket felt heavy, and he was more aware of its presence than he was of anything else.

“How many of you are there?” Tobirama questioned.

“Why should I answer your questions?” Madara challenged. He knew that it was stupid to goad the man on, but he was starting to feel uneasy. Izuna was his younger brother, and he would be damned before he would give away his brother’s position to anyone, obvious threats be damned.

“I’m not alone,” the man informed him. “I have no wish to kill you, but if you’re not going to cooperate, I won’t hesitate. You’re not the first person that I’ll have killed, and you won’t be the last. Cooperate, and your chance of survival and the survival of those with you is much higher.”

“My brother,” Madara said. “My brother is with me. Please just leave him alone.”

The man gave no response to his plea. He simply continued on with his interrogation. “What are you here for?”

“Looking for supplies,” Madara replied. “Honestly, it’s not like I’m here for some sort of sinister purpose. I have no interest in you or whatever it is that you want. Just take whatever it is and leave.”

“Do either of you have any medical supplies?” the man questioned. “Antibiotics, sterile needles and thread for stitching, and bandages.”

Madara’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not trying to treat a bite wound, are you?”

“Quit asking questions,” the man snapped at him. “Answer me!”

“You need medical equipment,” Madara retorted. “You sound as though you’re in a hurry. If you want my cooperation, then put the damned gun down and we can speak like civil men!”

The man snorted at this. “There are no civil men in this world anymore. Don’t be ridiculous. I already know what will happen once I put this gun down.”

Madara felt cold air hit his side, and there was a low creak that hit his ears. “There’s a…” a man had started to speak, but trailed off afterward, most likely stopping after seeing Madara.

“So, there’s two of them, huh?”

Madara spun around, uncaring about the gun in the white-haired man’s hands. He came face-to-face with another white-haired man. This one had dark eyes. He was taller and even broader than his captor and looked to be in his mid-thirties. “What have you done to Izuna?” Madara growled, taking a step toward the older man.

“Calm down, son,” the man said. “Izuna is safe. We just had to restrain him.”

“Well,” the younger man said. “Looks like I don’t need this now that we have a hostage.” Madara turned and saw that he had stowed the gun in his pocket. Madara frowned at this action, but he wasn’t going to say anything. If the idiot wanted to shoot himself by accident, it wasn’t any of his concern.

“You’re so cold, Tobirama,” the older man said. “Honestly, it’s alright to just be human. Try and be charitable.”

“We can’t be charitable, Jiraiya,” the younger man—Madara guessed his name was Tobirama—snapped. “Hashirama needs medical attention!”

“I understand that,” Jiraiya said, “that doesn’t mean that you have to be rude to the man in front of you. He doesn’t seem like that bad of a person. Maybe he might be willing to help out if you’d give him a chance.” Jiraiya turned and looked at Madara. “Do you have any medical supplies? A precious friend of ours had been scratched badly by one of the infected and needs help fast. His condition is steadily worsening. We have a doctor in our group, but she needs proper supplies to treat him.”

Madara understood what Jiraiya was asking him for almost immediately. Scratches weren’t an immediate death sentence, but they were serious. Bacteria was easily spread from the skin and fingernails of the infected, and there was no telling what kind they would have on them since they didn’t practice regular hygiene…or any hygiene at all.

“Yeah,” Madara said. “We have the supplies to fix him up, but he’s going to need some place to properly rest and recover. He can’t be exposed to any other germs in case of a secondary infection. There’s no point in me giving you anything if you don’t have those assets. He won’t make it.”

“Why do you even care about that?” Tobirama demanded. “Just give us the medicine and go on your way. We don’t need your opinion.”

“Tobirama,” Jiraiya cut him off, his voice hardening slightly, as though he was reprimanding him. “I’m sure that the man has his reasons for saying what he’s saying. Let him speak.”

“We don’t need people pretending to be nice,” Tobirama snapped at him. “I think we’ve had enough of that, don’t you?”

Jiraiya sighed. “Why don’t you go out and stand with Kushina? She’s really antsy right now, and you can calm her down better than any of us.”

“Fine,” Tobirama said. He stalked outside without another word, or so much as a glance backward.

Madara scowled at the cold bastard as he watched him go through the filthy windows.

“The hell’s his problem?” Madara grumbled.

“Hashirama is his brother,” Jiraiya said. “It’s the only family that he has left. He’s anxious to see him better before something happens to him.” He took a step toward Madara, but kept a respectable distance, as though he didn’t want to make the man nervous. “Are you going to give us the medication or not?”

“I’m not going to give you guys medicine that isn’t going to save him,” Madara said. “There’s no point in wasting supplies.”

“Look,” Jiraiya said. “We’re looking for a place that we can settle down in for a while. It was medically necessary before Hashirama was hurt.”

Madara frowned at this. “Are you just hauling around a group of sickly and stupid people? If that’s the case, it would be better for you to drop them before they get you killed.” Honestly, he was getting more and more confused by the minute as to why these guys were still alive.

“She has a…condition,” Jiraiya said. His rubbed the back of his head with his hand almost sheepishly. “It’s nothing that she could have helped…well, I supposed that it could have been prevented, but it’s not as though we would have….” Jiraiya trailed off uncertainly, as though he wasn’t sure how to say what was wrong with the woman without outright saying it, though Madara had a feeling that he knew what was going on.

“You have a pregnant woman in your group, and you’re in search of a safe place for her to deliver the baby,” Madara guessed.

Jiraiya paled slightly, obviously not liking that Madara had guessed that much. They must be very protective of this woman. The lady that Tobirama had gone out to comfort was probably the one that was pregnant. What was her name again? _Kushina?_

Madara sighed as he felt that heavy sensation in his stomach. It was always the feeling that was followed with him making a stupid decision out of obligation. _She’s pregnant…with a baby…you know you can’t just let them go and try and find shelter. What happens if they don’t and they’re killed along with the small child?_ His heart clenched at that. He hated the thought of anything happening to any child, but the thought of something happening to an infant that never had a chance at all. He sighed and brought his hand to his face and covered his eyes. His mouth was opened before he could summon the will to stop himself.

“You guys can come with us.”

Jiraiya blinked at that. “Excuse me, son?” he questioned.

“You guys don’t actually have anywhere to go,” Madara said. “This area is basically claimed by the colony that we’re a part of. You guys will be found anyway, and the people that find you next time might not be as nice as me and my brother, especially if that cold bastard is with you.”

Silence rang through the room, and Jiraiya looked at him uncertainly. “I…” he sighed. “We don’t know you, and we can’t trust you if we don’t know you. I’m not trying to insult you, but you have to understand that we can’t just go with you blindly.”

“Look,” Madara said. “It sounds as though you’re either going to take a risk and come with us, or you’re going to be taking a risk and venturing out into who knows where trying your best to stay alive there. You have one that’s injured, and you have another that’s expecting. Just…just talk it over with your group, alright?” He was more than just a little bit pissed off at himself for even offering the outsiders a place in his community, but he didn’t know what else he was supposed to do. The thought of an infant being exposed to the dangers of this world caused his gut to clench painfully.

Jiraiya sighed and nodded. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to your brother, and I’ll speak to the others about it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Izuna-related humor, and an agreement between two different groups.

Tobirama frowned at Kushina. She looked as though she wanted nothing more than to club Izuna over the head. From the looks of it, that had already happened to him before Tobirama had made it outside. He had his hands cuffed behind his back as he sat crisscross on the ground. His eyes were half-lidded as he looked up at both him and Kushina with a dazed expression. “Why do you have white hair?” he asked, his voice coming out as a slur.

“What the hell did you guys do to him?” Tobirama questioned.

“It’s just a mild sedative,” Kushina replied. “He was freaking out after we cuffed him and didn’t want to shut up.” So Tsunade gave him something to mellow him out. Tobirama raised an eyebrow at the effects of the drug that had been administered to the black-haired man.

He was still looking at Tobirama, his eyes narrowed in concentration. “Your eyes are a funny color,” he giggled. “It matches the marks on your face!”

Tobirama just sighed. Drugged up, this man was a complete idiot. He was praying that the man inside hadn’t been so worried about his brother because he was an idiot coherent. He looked over at the redhead. “Jiraiya said that you were freaking out. What’s wrong?”

“Minato came and got Tsunade,” Kushina said quietly, her eyes dimming. “Hashirama is doing worse. It seems as though his fever has spiked.”

Tobirama felt his heart constrict at that. He had to fight back the urge to rush toward their car and make sure that his brother was still in one piece. He swallowed his concern and just sighed. It would be alright. Minato and Tsunade were with him now, and Tobirama needed to stay with Kushina and watch over the drugged idiot that was now in their care. He didn’t know what Jiraiya was talking to the idiot inside about, but he wished that his father-figure would hurry up. He knew that Jiraiya would rather handle all things peacefully, and Tobirama would respect his wishes, but if that man didn’t cave soon, Tobirama was going to go in there and make that black-haired bastard tell him where his medicine was.

“Have you seen Madara?” Izuna slurred. “I haven’t seen my brother in a while.”

Tobirama raised an eyebrow at the almost unconcerned way that Izuna mentioned his brother. Tsunade really must have done a number on him. Much to Tobirama’s surprise, Izuna was able to push himself to his feet and he took a couple of steps toward Tobirama. “Can you take me to see him? I’m sure that you probably know where he is!”

By this time, Izuna was well within his personal boundaries, and Tobirama flinched and shoved him away. Izuna stumbled backward and fell on his back on the ground with the breath knocked out of him. He heard Kushina giggling from beside him and whirled around to look at her. “What?” he demanded.

“You look flustered,” she informed him with a grin. “What’s wrong? Do you think he’s cute?”

Tobirama looked down at the drugged man. Izuna certainly wasn’t hideous, actually he was quite attractive, but Tobirama didn’t think anything of that. He hadn’t really felt attracted to anyone in a long time. His trust issues had stopped him from looking at anyone at all, even the strangers that they had occasionally come by.

“He’s not bad,” Tobirama admitted. “I’m not even close to interested, though.”

Kushina looked at him almost sadly and nodded. Tobirama froze as he heard a stick break from behind him. He slowly turned around and grimaced at what he saw. Two of the infected were walking toward them. One looked as though it used to be a man while the other was smaller, probably a child. “Kushina,” Tobirama said slowly. “Take Izuna away and go and see what’s keeping Jiraiya. Move slowly.”

“Look!” Izuna said. “Zombies!”

There was a loud growl and Tobirama cursed. The man lurched forward, his pale skin showing off veins all over his face and exposed chest. The child moved forward too, it’s sharp teeth bared. This was not good. “Go!” he snarled at them.

He rushed forward to get the zombie’s attention on him as he rushed. He adult met him first, it’s arm gliding over his head, clearing his hair by millimeters. He rammed the monster with his shoulder and tackled him to the ground. He got up and snatched the child up, flinging it back before it could get any momentum and rush Kushina and their drugged captive.

“Come on!” he heard Kushina shout. As he spun around to go after the big one again, who was just getting back up, he saw that Kushina had snatched Izuna’s arm and drug him across the field, both of them running as fast as their conditions would allow.

 

Madara and Jiraiya were walking out of the store when a very pregnant redheaded woman ran toward them, dragging his brother behind him. Her face was stricken with panic while Izuna looked…strange. His pupils were dilated, and his eyes were wide open. “Madara!” Izuna cried happily. He kept running after the woman released him, stumbling and tripping over his own feet. He crashed into Madara’s chest and wrapped his arms around him. “I was wondering where you went!”

“What’s wrong with you, Izuna?” Madara questioned.

“He was drugged,” the woman said, but looked over at Jiraiya almost immediately. “Get to Tobirama. He’s in trouble. Two infected came out of the forest.”

Jiraiya immediately moved to run toward the back of the station. Madara contemplated going to help him for a few moments. It wasn’t as though he and that coldhearted bastard had really hit it off, but Madara knew what the right thing to do was. He cursed and rushed after Jiraiya to help. He wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, knowing that someone had died because of him.

He saw Tobirama catch a close call with a large infected man. The menacing growl was audible from all the way near the gas station. It was angry and unhinged enough to cause a shiver to trail its way down Madara’s spine.

Jiraiya made it to Tobirama just in time to tackle a small child that was ambling toward him. Madara skidded to a stop a couple of feet from the fight. He saw Jiraiya finishing off the child out of the corner of his eye. The snap of its neck was overshadowed by the roar of the angry infected that was attacking Tobirama.

Madara mentally slapped himself for his hesitation. He rushed toward Tobirama and brought his arm over Tobirama’s head and straightened it out, knocking it in the throat in a harsh clothesline. He heard the infected hid the ground with a harsh _thud_. Madara didn’t stop moving. His hand dug into his pocket and pulled out his pocketknife and brought it down to the creature’s neck. He stabbed it harshly into its windpipe, crushing it. It twisted it sideways, until blood sprayed out of the wound, spattering on him. He grimaced as he backed out and stripped off his jacket, wiping it on his face, taking the blood off.

He breathed heavily as he stood up. He turned around and looked at the man nearest to him. Tobirama was staring at him with a blank expression, though his eyes narrowed almost as though he was angry. He didn’t say anything as he pushed past Madara. Madara’s own eyes narrowed in frustration. Who did this asshole think he was?

“You’re welcome,” Madara snarled at him.

Tobirama stiffened even more and turned around to give him a rather icy stare. “I don’t recall asking you for your assistance. You shouldn’t have interfered.”

“I’ll remember that for the next time that this happens,” Madara snapped. “Don’t worry. I won’t stop them even if they about to eviscerate you!”

“There won’t be a next time,” Tobirama informed him. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll just hand over your medical supplies and leave with your drugged-up brother as a thank-you for us sparing your life.”

Madara opened his mouth to give very detailed instructions of how Tobirama could go and fuck himself. Before he could get out a single syllable, Jiraiya cut him off. “Let’s be peaceful about all of this,” he urged. “There’s no reason at all for us to fight!”

“Yes, there is,” Madara informed him, narrowing his eyes at Tobirama. “He’s an asshole.”

“Tobirama,” Jiraiya scolded the other man. “I know that you don’t want to trust anyone, but this man has offered to help us. We don’t have much of a choice. Kushina needs to be in a place where she can give birth safely and your brother has to be in a sterile environment so that he can properly heal.”

Tobirama’s eyes widened, as though he just realized what Jiraiya was getting at. He shook his head quickly. “No, Jiraiya. Don’t be foolish, this could be a trap. It wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve come across something like this. It’s always too good to be true. Why would it be any different this time?”

“You don’t have to go,” Madara informed him coolly. “Honestly, I’d prefer it if you didn’t. Quit acting as though this is just about you. Do you really think that your group is the only one taking risks? The leader of our colony has acceptance policy to almost all outsiders, and I’m obligated to offer you shelter in your case. I take a risk every time that I meet a stranger and bring them back. So, you can drop that angry, self-righteous attitude, because it’s ridiculous. I’m not giving you guys any medicine, mostly because it would be a total waste. If you want your brother to receive proper treatment, you’ll take him and follow us.”

Tobirama stalked toward him. Madara stiffened up but didn’t move back. Jiraiya took a quick step forward to intercept Tobirama. The younger man shook him off almost effortlessly and kept stalking toward Madara, not stopping until they were nearly nose-to-nose. The man’s red eyes were glowing in complete distrust and dislike. “Well, listen to me, _Madara_ ,” Tobirama curled his upper lip in apparent distaste as he said his name. “If something happens to my brother, I’ll kill you slowly and as painfully as I can manage. Do we understand each other?”

Madara’s blood heated up, roaring through his veins like liquid fire. He wanted to reach out and strike the insolent man down, but he held himself back and swallowed his pride. He composed his face and tried for a smile, but he felt too strained. He figured that the expression was closer to that of pain than it was of friendship. “I understand,” he said, praying that his voice was steady enough. “Nothing is going to happen to him.”

“You’ll have to excuse me for not taking your word on that,” Tobirama told him dryly. Jiraiya gave Tobirama a pointed look and the younger man sighed. “Fine, but you’d better watch both of them!”

“Get into the truck,” Madara instructed them. “We can go to wherever the rest of your group is.”

Tobirama narrowed his eyes uncertainly at Madara, who sighed. “You know that you can just shoot me if you feel threatened, right? You do have that gun, you know?”

“Do you think that Tobirama is actually foolish enough to carry around something as loud as a gun with him?” Jiraiya snorted. “It’s not real.”

“ _Jiraiya!”_ Tobirama snarled. “He doesn’t have to know that!”

Madara raised an eyebrow at that. He supposed that the scare factor of the gun would be enough to throw most opponents off. It looked genuine enough, but it wasn’t all that hard to get a fake one that looked like the real deal. It wasn’t as though many people would have been clearing those off the shelves. It was actually a good idea.

“It doesn’t matter now,” Madara said. “The sooner that your brother gets the proper medical attention, the better for him.” Not to mention, the sooner they got back, the sooner he’d be without these idiots.

“Fine,” Tobirama said. “Let’s go.”

The redhead and Izuna were waiting near the gas station. Izuna was looking down at her swollen stomach almost curiously and her mouth was moving as she held a hand over her stomach with a soft look on her face. “You two should have stayed at the front,” Tobirama snapped at them. “You’re pregnant and that idiot’s out of his mind!”

“His condition is your fault,” Madara informed Tobirama with a frown. “Honestly, what’s wrong with you people?”

“What’s wrong with you?” Tobirama asked him incredulously. “Are you seriously that naïve?”

“You drug my brother and threaten my life,” Madara informed him. “I don’t see the problem in asking what the hell is wrong with you! Honestly, you guys are insane.” They were lucky that Sarutobi was such a good person. If he wasn’t, there was no way that Madara would be willing to stick his neck out for this asshole.

“Quit arguing!” the redhead snapped at both of them. Her hands were on her hips and her eyebrows were knitted together in the center of her forehead. “Honestly, we’re in a bit of a bind, Tobirama! This man is offering to help us, and we can’t just throw it back in his face, especially when we really do need his help for Hashi.”

Tobirama crossed his arms over his chest but finally nodded. “I’m sorry, Kushina. I didn’t mean to upset you.” His eyes were focused on her large stomach, and his voice was very sincere. Madara might not have liked him very much, but it was obvious that Tobirama cared deeply about his family. He could respect that about him, even if that was all.

“Let’s just forget about this for right now,” Madara said. “We can argue later. Take us to your brother and the others.”

 

Tsunade and Minato’s faces really were priceless when they drove up in Madara’s truck. Tobirama wasn’t sure if it was due to them being inside of it, obviously of their own free will, or Izuna swaying almost drunkenly on the bed of it. Either way, Tobirama couldn’t deny the humor of their dropped jaws and widened eyes.

“What the hell is going on?” Tsunade barked at them as Tobirama got out of the truck bed. He’d been trying his best to keep Izuna from tumbling out. It had been starting to work on his nerves and he was glad to be finished with it. He’d been tempted to either toss him off the side himself or knock him out.

“I don’t know what you gave him, Tsunade,” Tobirama said as he walked toward her, “but never again.”

“What is going on?” Minato repeated. His eyes landed on Kushina, who was being aided out of the truck by Jiraiya.

Madara had just stepped out himself and had walked to the truck bed. He stuck his finger at Izuna almost threateningly and growled, “Stay still!”

Izuna’s face turned pouty as he sat back on the metal of the truck. His arms were crossed over his chest, but he didn’t move. Tobirama sighed as he turned back around to look at Tsunade and Minato. Both blonds were still looking at the group, obviously waiting for answers.

“This is Madara and his brother, Izuna,” Tobirama finally said as Jiraiya and Kushina walked toward them with Madara walking behind them quickly. “They’ve been kind enough to offer us some aid for both Hashirama and Kushina.”

“What kind of aid?” Minato questioned as Kushina walked to his side. Tobirama didn’t miss the way that the blond’s arm wrapped around her shoulders protectively.

Tobirama opened his mouth to reply, but he realized that he wasn’t exactly sure of that himself. “If you want the specifics of it, you’re going to have to ask him,” Tobirama finally said as he pointed to Madara.

The man in question stepped forward a little and said, “I’m a part of a colony further in. It’s called Konoha, and it’s enclosed by large walls. We have medical supplies, a clinic for the sick. There’s food and water. Everything that you guys will need are there.”

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed at this. “I remember hearing some rumors about a colony a while ago about a colony around that area.”

“Me too,” Jiraiya agreed. “The rumors died down quickly however. I always assumed that they had been wiped out.”

“It’s why we never went to look,” Minato said. “Isn’t that right?”

Both older adults nodded in agreement. “Do you know if we can trust them?” Minato questioned, looking at Jiraiya and then turning to look at Tobirama and Kushina.

“No,” Tobirama questioned immediately. He saw Madara’s eyes narrow at him, but he didn’t care. It was the truth. “We don’t really know anything. I know that we’re desperate, but that doesn’t top the truth from being exactly what it is.”

“Hashirama doesn’t have time for us to debate,” Tsunade said finally. “I don’t normally do this, Madara, but I’m going to trust you not to lead us into a trap. If you cost us Hashirama’s life, I’ll make sure that you pay for it with your own.”

“I’ve already heard the threat,” Madara informed her. “I have some antibiotics in a first-aid kit in the truck. Come and get what you need.”

 

It took a while for Tsunade to finish with Hashirama. Their van was parked in a secluded backroad covered by a thick strip of trees on both sides. It wasn’t very clean, and there was a chance that some infection could get inside of his wounds, but it was a risk that they were all willing to take. The alternative was much worse.

“He’s ready to move!” Tsunade finally called after what felt like an eternity. Tobirama, who was sitting on a stump near the car immediately jumped up. He’d learned a long time ago that standing over Tsunade’s shoulder while she was trying to work was a bad idea. It always caused a flare in her horrible temper and resulted in a few bruises and nasty cuts. It simply wasn’t worth it.

“How is he?” he questioned, walking toward the back of the van. It had turned into a makeshift medical table. “He’s as good as we’re going to get him. We need to get him somewhere that he can properly rest and recover.”

“That’s where I come in,” Madara said. He’d been arguing with a drowsy brother for the past thirty minutes and had finally convinced him to get into the truck and take a nap. “Are you guys ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Tsunade said.

“I’ll sit in the back with him,” Minato said. He kissed Kushina on the forehead quickly before he rushed toward the hatch of the van. There was just enough room for Hashirama to lay out with his head on Minato’s lap once the younger man crawled inside.

“I’m going to ride with Madara,” Jiraiya said. “If only as a testament of good faith.”

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed at that. She stalked from behind the van and snatched the front of Jiraiya’s shirt, holding it in her hand and wrenching him forward a couple of steps. Jiraiya was much taller than Tsunade, but that didn’t stop the fierce woman from glaring threateningly at him all the same. “Are you stupid? You want to go by yourself with them? If we’re going into a trap, we need to be ready and we need to be together!”

Tobirama saw Jiraiya’s hand come up and close gently over Tsunade’s fist. He gave her a gentle smile. “Don’t look so upset. I’m doing this because I care about all of you. If they’re genuine, then this is as a sign of good faith. If it turns out to be a trap, I’d rather I be with them and start something up first so that you guys have enough time to get away.” He was speaking so lowly, that Tobirama’s ears were straining to pick up his voice. There was no way that Madara was able to catch it.

“Jiraiya,” Tsunade said weakly. Her amber eyes were widened, as though she was uncertain about how to proceed. It was an expression that Tobirama had only seen on her face a select few times, and it was always during a dire situation. The calmness of everything seemed to clash against the expression and made Tobirama feel strange.

“Don’t be upset, princess,” Jiraiya told her a bit more loudly. “Everything’s going to be alright. Hashirama is going to get his medical attention, and everyone else will be able to breathe a bit easier. Tell me that you weren’t looking forward to something like this happening?”

Tobirama sighed, knowing that Jiraiya wasn’t going to change his mind, and that they were just wasting time that could be used for Hashirama’s healing. He walked over and grabbed Tsunade’s arm gently. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go before Hashi gets any worse. I’ll drive.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you guys enjoyed it! Thank you for reading! I'm not entirely sure where I'm going to go with this, though I'm starting to get a better idea of it while I go along. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear (read) them!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introduction of a few new characters! I hope you're excited to see them.

The drive took what felt like forever. Madara had insisted on stopping back at the gas station and grabbing the supplies that he had spotted before Tobirama had _so rudely interrupted him._ The smartass way that Madara had said it to him had set his teeth on edge as he fought back the urge to slap the man as hard as he could. Apparently, it would have been a totally wasted trip otherwise. Tobirama supposed that he could understand that, but he didn’t really find himself all that charitable while Hashirama was laying in the back of their van, knocked out.

Tobirama was still scowling about it when Madara stopped his truck in middle of the road in front of him. The ride had been a long one, and Hashirama had woken up maybe thirty minutes before. He was babbling in the back, and Tobirama wasn’t sure if he’d rather his brother still be under the influence of Tsunade’s sedatives or not.

It was almost dark by the time that Tobirama turned off the engine to the van. He sighed and slumped down in his seat for a few moments, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger as he tried to drown out everyone’s voices and find his inner sane spot. Jiraiya got out of the truck first, probably to show that he was still alright. There was a large smile on his face which made Tobirama even more upset. There was no way that he should have been smiling so much after having to interact with Madara. The man was just too miserable for that.

He rushed up, and Tsunade immediately opened the door to listen to him. “You’ll never guess what Madara just told me, princess!” he exclaimed.

“What did he tell you?” Tsunade questioned as she unbuckled herself and stepped out as well. Tobirama sighed as he followed suit and heard the door a door on the other side close as well, signaling that Kushina had gotten out as well.

He figured that the younger woman could get Minato and his foolish brother out without a problem. He walked toward the front of the van and leaned against the hood with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for Jiraiya to answer Tsunade’s question.

“Hot water!” Jiraiya exclaimed, his dark eyes glowing in excitement. “They have _hot water_!”

Tobirama couldn’t help the excitement that he felt from that one sentence. It had been ten years since he’d had a proper hot shower. Ten years since he hadn’t winced as he doused himself with icy water, or jumped into a freezing pond, river or lake to clean himself. He felt himself involuntarily perk up at that and turned to look at Jiraiya, praying that he hadn’t just been wishful thinking making him hear things.

“Hot water,” he found himself repeating at the same time as Tsunade. The older woman looked positively delighted, going far enough to throw herself at Jiraiya and hug him. Tobirama raised an eyebrow at this and Jiraiya’s eyes widened before he slowly hugged her back. Tobirama quickly looked away from this.

They weren’t together, but Tobirama still felt as though he was intruding on a privet moment. It was painfully obvious that they loved each other. When he had been a teenager, he’d remembered asking Jiraiya why he and Tsunade weren’t together, and the man had simply responded that “ _In this kind of world, it’s possible to love someone too much.”_ Tobirama hadn’t understood it back then, but he did now. Love was a crippling weakness, and it could get someone killed more quickly than any bite or scratch could.

“Alright,” Madara called out. “Is the one with the scratch awake?”

He was walking toward them from his truck. His brother, Izuna looked a lot better than he had before, and his face was morphed into an unpleasant scowl. He was obviously unappreciative of what Tsunade had done to him.

Tobirama looked away and saw that his older brother was walking around the van, leaning heavily on Minato. His had dark bags under his eyes and was sweating despite the cooler temperature in the air. He looked horrible, but it was still a definite step up from what he had been like before. Tobirama looked away from Hashirama and then looked at Madara.

“Thank you,” he managed to get out, looking directly at the dark-haired man, “for saving my brother.”

Madara paused in his stride and just turned to look at Tobirama for a moment. Izuna, who was a few steps behind him, didn’t seem to notice his brother’s lack of movement and just kept going before he crashed into his back.

“What the hell, Madara!” Izuna snapped, shoving his brother’s shoulder grouchily before he walked around him.

Madara completely ignored him for a few moments before he just said, “Forget about it. I didn’t do it for you.”

Tobirama scowled at him. He wanted to feel insulted by the matter-of-fact way that Madara said it, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. It wasn’t as though he wanted a stranger to do things for him anyway. It was better to stay at odds. It would constantly keep him on his guard and keep him alive.

He just turned away from Madara and looked back at Hashirama. The man in question was leaning heavily against the van, looking as though he would much rather be hugging the pavement than putting up any more effort to walk.

“You want to ride on my back?” Tobirama asked him. It wasn’t something that he offered lightly, but he brother looked _horrible._

“Why did we stop?” Kushina asked, looking at the pair of dark-haired brothers with narrowed purple eyes. “This doesn’t exactly scream safe haven to me.”

“Because this isn’t Konoha,” Jiraiya answered for the men. “Konoha is about ten more minutes down the road by foot. We’ll be able to see it soon.”

“If we were to drive up,” Madara said, “and there was a vehicle that they didn’t recognize, then they would assume that you were enemies. I figured that you guys would appreciate not being shot at.”

“Yeah,” Tobirama said, “but I also think that Hashirama can’t take much more walking, whether someone is carrying him or not, and Kushina needs to cut down on the exercise too. The last thing that she needs is any complications.”

“It’s not that far,” Madara said. “I get it, but it’s the last bit of exertion that you’ll have to go through for a while.”

“You assholes complain too much,” Izuna griped. “Honestly, quit bitching so I can get back home and away from you people. Your entire group is one huge nightmare!”

“I don’t know if I’d be so high-and-mighty,” Madara informed him, his eyes lighting up in obvious humor. “You were pretty nightmarish while you were drugged. I’d say that you should be thanking a few of them for watching out for your sorry ass after you let them catch you. Honestly, Izuna, I can’t believe that they were nice enough to make sure that you didn’t die after you were drugged.”

Izuna scowled at his older brother and crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. “I wouldn’t have needed their help if that psycho hadn’t drugged me!” He pointed at Tsunade accusingly.

“Call her a psycho again,” Tobirama told him as he pushed himself off the hood, “and you’ll wish that you were still drugged.” Izuna’s eyes narrowed at Tobirama, and took a step toward him, as though accepting his challenge. Madara reached out and grabbed Izuna by the collar of his coat and snatched him backward before he could get any closer.

“Quit arguing with people, fool,” Madara scolded his younger brother. Tobirama, on the other hand, didn’t even have to look over to see the reprimanding glare that both Jiraiya and Tsunade were bound to be sending him.

“Let’s just go,” Tsunade said abruptly. “Hashirama needs to rest.”

Tobirama walked toward his brother, who was shaking his head. “I’ll be fine, Tobi. You don’t need to—”

“Shut up,” Tobirama snapped at him. “This is better for you. You’ll collapse within in a couple of minutes and hurt yourself more.”

Hashirama just sighed and nodded, allowing Tobirama to turn his back to him and lean down a little. It took a few moments, but Hashirama was soon situated on Tobirama’s back, ready for the long walk.

 

 

Kakashi was _bored._ He’d been stuck in the town for over a month, and none of the adults would let him leave. He didn’t understand why. He was sixteen years old, and that was plenty old enough to go out on runs in an attempt to get more supplies. The last time he’d questioned Madara about it, the eldest Uchiha had ruffled his hair and told him not to be in a hurry to get back out in the field. Apparently, the adults were all worried that the near miss that he’d had with an infected had shaken him up. He’d even asked his father about it, and his dad had been as firm as the others about him staying behind.

He was laying out on one of the rolling hills inside of the gates. It was starting to get chilly during the days, and the ground was almost uncomfortably cold against his back, but it was an easy thing to ignore, especially as he looked up at the clouds.

“You look upset,” a familiar voice hit his ears. Kakashi lazily turned his head to watch Iruka walk toward him. Iruka was a fifteen-year-old who’d lost his parents at the beginning of the epidemic that had ended the world for all intents and purposes. Despite the shit-hand he’d been dealt in life, the boy was always optimistic. It was as though there was nothing that could get him down.

“I’m not upset,” Kakashi informed him, pushing himself up so that he was sitting instead. He looked at the younger guy, who had finally made it to the top of the deceptively steep hill. Iruka’s arms were crossed over his broad chest as he looked down at him with disbelieving dark brown eyes. His lips were pursed slightly, adding to the look of _I’m insulted that you actually think that I’m dumb enough to fall for that_. Yes, it was exactly that look, and yes, Iruka’s looks were _that_ expressive. It had been disconcerting for Kakashi when he first realized that he was able to read the other that well, but he’d quickly gotten used to the fact, and found that he didn’t mind it at all.

“You’re still unhappy that you’re not allowed to go on another run, aren’t you?” Iruka questioned. His voice was soft and understanding, one of the things that Kakashi liked most about him. Though, it was a bit deceptive in itself, since Iruka probably had one of the biggest attitudes out of anyone that he’d ever seen.

“I feel like I’m a useless freeloader right now,” Kakashi admitted. “I just want to be able to help out. It’s not fair that others are going out and risking their lives to keep everyone here alive and I’m just laying around _taking it easy for a little while_.” He spat out Sarutobi’s words angrily. He knew that the old man was just being concerned about him, but that didn’t make his resentment just disappear.

“Don’t be stupid,” Iruka told him. “You’re not freeloading at all. You’re sixteen; the world might have gone to hell, but not all of the people have. They still consider you a kid, because you are, and they don’t want to see you throw away what’s left of your childhood by sending you out on runs.”

“My childhood was wrecked ten years ago,” Kakashi informed him bitterly, “when I saw my mother torn apart by the psychos that roam around these walls. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to just let go and be a child. I’m not a kid anymore, and neither are you. How can you tell me just to be a kid when you’re the most responsible person that I know?”

Iruka’s lips twitched into a grin as he walked over and sat next to him, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on top of them as he wrapped his arms around his legs. He was silent for a few moments before he finally spoke. “You’re one of my best friends, Kakashi. We make a good pair, you know? You’re strong and intelligent, even if you’re a bit eccentric. I’m the level-headed one that pulls you back from doing stupid things. Since we balance each other out so well, why don’t you just let me be the mature one for both of us for a little while? Quit acting like an adult and act like the sixteen-year-old that you actually are.”

“How are sixteen-year-olds supposed to act?” Kakashi questioned as he turned to look at his companion fully.

Iruka’s smile widened at this. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “How do you really feel like acting once you shed away that stupid adult persona that you’re always putting on for show?”

_Like a lovestruck fool,_ he couldn’t help but think as he looked at his best friend. Iruka was one of the only bright points in his life, and he would love nothing more than to act like it, but he always kept his mouth shut. His track-record for keeping the people close to him safe was terrible. He’d been lucky so far with Iruka, and there was no way that he was going to push his luck by asking for more.

“I don’t know,” he replied instead. “I don’t think that I can act like a child.”

“Kakashi!”

Kakashi frowned and snapped his head to the side to look in the direction that his name had been called from. Unable to see anything from where he was situated, he got to his feet, and Iruka immediately followed suit. Once he was standing, he was able to see the street on the opposite side of the wrought iron fence that encircled the town.

A group of people was standing there, and he saw that Madara Uchiha was standing a bit closer to the fence, away from the rest of the people. “Open the gate!”

Kakashi frowned at this. Wasn’t there someone manning the entrance, like there was supposed to be? He shrugged at this, knowing that someone was going to be reprimanded for slacking off. He quickly rushed down the hill and toward the entrance of the town, quite a few yards away.

“Oh, shit!” he heard Iruka curse from behind him. Kakashi spared a glance behind him and saw that Iruka was pointing out toward the road. Kakashi stumbled to a stop when he saw the infected that were rushing toward the group of people. There were well over ten of them, probably closer to twenty of the sickness-maddened people. Fear gripped his heart as he started running again, picking up his pace to a full-on sprint.

The gate was locked. A huge chain was wrapped around the doors and a large, heavy-duty padlock held it in place. There were only a select few people with a key to it, and Kakashi definitely wasn’t one of them. He looked around desperately, searching for the people that were supposed to be manning the entrance for the day, but he came up short on any signs of life at all.

He cursed as he spared a glance back toward the group outside. The infected were getting closer to the people. He saw two people being pushed backward as the rest of the group made a makeshift wall in between them and the infected.

“This isn’t good,” Kakashi murmured, tugging fruitlessly at the lock as he watched the first of the infected engage a blond man. He was too far away for Kakashi to really make out, but it was obvious from how fearlessly and effortlessly he met the infected in battle that the man was nothing short of a badass.

“Come on,” Iruka said, tugging on the back of his shirt. “We need to go and find someone with a key!”

Kakashi nodded and turned around. Iruka had already started running up the road away from the gate, and Kakashi immediately followed, forcing himself not to look back. It would only slow him down, and those people obviously didn’t have time for any delays. He slowed down considerably when he came to the first road.

“You find Sarutobi!” Kakashi called to Iruka. “I’m going to go and help them!” This road would take him to the far side of the fence, not too far from where Madara and Izuna were, but it was closer to some trees that he could climb to get over the fence easier.

He was about to rush down it when a hand grabbed his own and yanked him to a stop. Iruka had never been one to make any excursions out of the town. He was much too nice and softhearted, even if the majority of his life had been growing up in a world like this. Even if this was the case, Iruka was physically strong. Kakashi didn’t know if it was just good genetics, or if he secretly worked out, but he really was strong enough to yank Kakashi back with enough force to cause the elder to stagger a little.

“We don’t have time for this, Iruka,” Kakashi snapped at him. “Let me go so I can help!”

“I’m not letting you go so that you can go and get yourself killed!” Iruka snarled back. Kakashi was whirled around to look at Iruka, who was scowling at him, but he wasn’t fooled. He could see the fear swirling in the brown depths of his eyes.

“I’m not going to die,” Kakashi told him softly, “but I can buy them at least a little bit of time if I go outside and help.”

“No!” Iruka snapped. “You’re too reckless! This is what I’m talking about with being a child! They’re afraid to send you out there because you don’t seem to value your life anymore. Please, just don’t do this!”

“If you don’t want me to die,” Kakashi said, “then you should get that key from Sarutobi as fast as you can.” Before Iruka could respond, Kakashi had grabbed ahold of Iruka’s wrist and twisted his own out of the younger’s grip. He dodged Iruka’s attempt to grab him again and kept running away from him. He knew Iruka wouldn’t follow. The younger was strong, but he wasn’t nearly as fast as Kakashi, who had a thin, almost gangly build.

He heard Iruka curse loudly from behind him, but just ignored it as he rushed toward the gate.

 

 

Madara hated stupid kids. He really did, and he swore that Kakashi was starting to do more and more things to earn the title of a complete moron. Climbing over the fence and rushing to their aid was probably the dumbest thing that he’d seen yet…quite possibly out of anyone. Now, they were _all_ going to die, and Kakashi’s amazing potential was going to be totally wasted. If Sakumo didn’t do something to chastise this idiot, then Madara was going to thrash him himself…that was if they made it out of this in one piece.

“You fool!” Madara thundered angrily as he pushed off an infected and kicked it in the stomach as the disgusting man tried to lurch at him again. “What the hell do you think that you’re doing?!”

“Helping,” was Kakashi’s only reply as he tackled one of the smaller of the infected that was trying to get past their sloppily held barrier. It would have worked, and the two incapables would have been in trouble if Kakashi wouldn’t have been there to get it. That was totally, beside the point, however. The little imbecile had no business out there with them. Madara would have loved to keep arguing with him and really give him a piece of his mind, but there was no time to, not if he wanted to be around later and make sure that Kakashi got what was coming to him.

He turned back to his own fight and just as he was about to reach out and grab the infected man that he’d been going against, he felt a sharp tug on the back of his shirt, and he was snatched backward. The only thing that kept him from taking a bad fall was his sharp reflexes.

He turned to fight whatever had done it, whether they were infected or not, but he saw Tobirama and Jiraiya both there, taking down a rather fat infected that was still staring at him as though it wanted him to be its main course. Madara let out an annoyed growl and brought out his knife, slicing it forward and slitting it’s throat out of aggravation and turning back around, only to see Tsunade wrenching it toward her, and using that momentum to shove the heel of her hand at its face, right into its nose. It fell forward from the damage of its brain, clearly not about to get back up.

About half of the horde had been taken care of without any injuries from their side, but there was no way that they were going to be able to keep this up. They were still sentient, something that most people tried to forget while they were fighting them, and Madara could tell that they were gaging the way that they moved and getting a feel for their styles before they attacked. Madara felt dread filling his stomach as the remaining began rushing them.

“I’m going to kill whoever was supposed to be on duty this morning,” Izuna groaned as he took a step forward to stand next to Madara. He looked tired and he was panting. Those drugs hadn’t completely left his system.

“You need to get back,” Madara said. “Why don’t you take Kakashi and try to strangle him while we take care of the rest of this mess?”

“I can hear you,” Kakashi snapped at him, standing on the other side of Izuna. Madara wanted to send him a dirty look, but just as Kakashi remarked with that, the hoard hit, and Madara was ducking and weaving around angry and flailing limbs. The one blessing about the infected was that the infection did make their motor functions less smooth, so their fighting, while deadly, lacked any finesse.

“I’m going to strangle you myself!” Madara snarled at him as he elbowed one of the infected in the neck. It wasn’t the most graceful move, but he heard a telltale snap all the same. The body went limp and immediately fell to the ground, only for another two to take its place.

He took an involuntary step back as both of the creatures reached out toward him. He desperately missed his baseball bat. Before he could do anything else, both of the creatures had literally jumped on him. He thrashed around and fought all the way to the ground, where his head hit very hard on the asphalt. In a painful daze, the only thing that he could do was raise his hands up to block the oncoming attack. He heard teeth snapping desperately at his skin, but he managed to wrap his hands around their necks and stopped their teeth from connecting with his skin. This would only hold them off, however. There was no way that he was going to be able to push off two heavy and pissed off infected. It just wasn’t going to happen. He was going to die, and the thought really made him angry. It wasn’t fair that this was going to be how he died.

He felt his strength slowly sapping away and knew that there was only a couple more seconds before it was over. Just when he felt the last of his remaining stamina seep away and his arms collapse back onto himself, allowing the infected to completely collapse on top of him, they were gone.

Madara inhaled deeply in relief and moved to sit up. Before he could, a hand was on his shoulder, firmly holding him down. Without bothering to look and see who or what was restraining him, he swung.

There was a muffled curse as his shoulder was released. He opened his eyes and moved to sit back up again but he was shoved down again, though this time it was definitely not as gentle. “Don’t be an idiot!” Tobirama’s sharp voice hit his ears and he immediately snapped his eyes toward the voice. He swore glaring at the man was going to become something of a reflex. With any luck, they would have very little to do with each other from now on.

“Dammit, Madara!” his younger cousin, Kagami’s frustrated voice hit his ears. It was muffled and slightly nasally. Madara looked over, toward the noise, and saw that the young man was sitting on the road, cradling his nose in his hands. A bit of blood was leaking past his fingers, and Madara felt regret at the sight.

“I’m sorry,” Madara said. It was normally hard for him to apologize, but he honestly couldn’t care less about pride at the moment. He was just happy to be alive.

 “Were you bitten?” Tsunade snapped at him. Her harsh no-nonsense tone startled him from his blissful state as he turned back and saw that she was kneeling over him.

“I don’t think so,” Madara said, though that didn’t stop her from wrenching his shirt up to his chest and looking him over herself.

Madara shouted in protest and tried to bat her hands away, but she slapped his own and he pulled them back, feeling like a scolded child. He just laid there afterward. “Where’s my idiot brother?” he called out.

“I’m over here,” Izuna called. There was a small crowd of people standing off to the side. They were grabbing the bodies and putting them in the bed of a small pickup truck. He saw Izuna, Jiraiya and Minato helping out with that. A little farther over, he saw Kakashi talking with Kushina. She was smiling at him and rubbing his head at something.

“Is everyone alright?” Madara questioned.

“Everyone’s fine,” Tobirama was the one to speak, surprisingly enough. “You were the only one to take a fall.” He looked over at Tsunade and said, “I’m pretty sure that he has a concussion at the very least. He hit very hard.”

Tsunade looked up at him with pinched eyebrows before nodding. She looked around, and apparently spotted Kagami first. “He needs to be moved inside. I’d prefer it if he wasn’t walking quite yet until he was properly examined.”

“If the way that he punched me in the face is any indication,” Kagami said mournfully, “I think that it’s safe to say that he’s completely fine.” He got to his feet all the same, however and slowly looked around. “I don’t think that we have any gurneys, though I don’t work as a healer either.”

“I guess he could be piggybacked,” Kagami said thoughtfully.

Madara immediately stiffened at this and barked, “Absolutely not! I am not injured and can walk on my own!” He knocked Tobirama’s hand off his shoulder and pushed himself to his feet. The sudden change in direction and altitude didn’t do his stomach any wonders, and his head was pounding painfully.

Tsunade was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, but the look in her eyes was one of either amusement or anticipation. Madara didn’t know why, and he narrowed his eyes at her in response, or at least he tried to narrow them. That seemed to happen at the same time that his stomach decided to lurch, and his balance almost completely left him. He reached out and grabbed something solid before he could hit the ground again.

His body acted without his permission, as he doubled over, and his stomach heaved, displacing its contents on the filthy asphalt.

“Idiot,” Tobirama snapped at him. “She tried to warn you.”

“Don’t call my brother an idiot!” he heard Izuna snarl.

“I believe that is well within my right since your brother didn’t listen and has now regurgitated all over my shoes.”

Madara felt nothing short of mortification at this and just closed his eyes, wishing for a quick death. Why hadn’t those infected put him out of his misery?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave your thoughts below!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi is in trouble. Future best friends finally formally meet, and there is a tour of the town.

Kakashi was in trouble. Iruka had tried to come outside with the rest of the people but hadn’t been permitted to. He’d fought and argued, but to no avail. As soon as the last of the infected were down, however, he opened that gate and marched out of it.

A pretty woman with red hair had just finished thanking him for stopping one of the infected from getting too close to her. She was smiling at him with one hand ruffling his hair while the other one was protectively covering a very pregnant stomach.

Kakashi mumbled a response to her and was so distracted that he didn’t notice Iruka coming up until he felt a fist connect with his jaw. He winced and stumbled backward unsteadily. His hand immediately came up to cradle his face by accident as he turned to look at his attacker. Iruka was standing there with his arms crossed over his broad chest, just glaring at him, as though he wanted to punch him again.

Kakashi didn’t even bother to ask him why he’d just punched him. He already knew that Iruka was going to be pissed, he just didn’t know that it was going to be this bad. He didn’t think that Iruka had ever hit him before. He just looked at the younger, unsure of what he was supposed to say.

“I…” he trailed off. He cut himself off before he could say something stupid. Before he could say anything else, he noticed that Iruka’s eyes were shiny. He was physically shaking, and it was as though his arms were crossed over his chest in an effort to keep himself together. Kakashi froze, unsure of what to do. Was Iruka about to cry? He didn’t know how to handle tears.

“You’re okay,” Iruka whispered. He dashed forward and had his arms wrapped tightly around Kakashi. His head was resting in the crook of Kakashi’s neck before Kakashi even knew what was going on. He was shaking even more harshly now. He inhaled shakily and uncertainly put his arms around Iruka as well. He cupped the back of his head and shut his eyes as he tangled them in Iruka’s hair, screwing up his ponytail.

“I’m alright,” Kakashi assured him quietly. “I’m completely fine. I don’t even have a scratch on me.”

“Don’t you _ever_ scare me like that again,” Iruka pleaded. Kakashi figured that it was supposed to come out threateningly, but the sentence came out as more of a whimper than anything else.

Kakashi opened his eyes and saw that Kushina had stepped away from him to speak to the blond man that Kakashi had noticed first. She looked over at him and smiled at him again, sending him an almost conspiratorial wink before she turned toward the man and began speaking to him.

“I’m sorry for scaring you,” Kakashi said, because he really was. He wasn’t sorry that he went out and helped, but he never intended to frighten Iruka so much. The younger man pulled away a little and smiled up at him. His eyes were red, and a few tear tracks ran down his cheeks, causing Kakashi’s gut to tighten even more.

As soon as Iruka released him, a couple of the strangers came up to them. One was a large man with long, white hair and the other was a woman with an exceptionally large bust and long, blond hair. The man smiled warmly at him and the woman looked as though she was trying to at the very least.

“You were very brave,” the man said, sticking his hand out toward Kakashi. “I’m grateful for your willingness to try and help.” Kakashi gripped his hand and shook it. “My name is Jiraiya, and this is Tsunade. She’s a doctor, and she’s just a little worried that you might have hurt yourself. Would you object to her looking you over?”

Kakashi turned and looked at Tsunade and saw that she was looking at him with obvious concern in her amber eyes. Be as that may, Kakashi was never really crazy about anyone looking him over. Before he could answer, however, Iruka did so for him.

“Kakashi would love for you to examine him,” he said. Kakashi almost opened his mouth to argue, but the look on Iruka’s face ensured a very long and thorough bitching session if he were to refuse. He’d probably skulk around and not speak to him for weeks until Kakashi did something along the lines of groveling to make things better. It really wasn’t worth it. He just nodded wearily in agreement and stepped forward to get examined.

_Not even together, and I’m already whipped,_ Kakashi thought. He probably should care a bit more than he did, but he didn’t. Being whipped by Iruka didn’t bother him in the least. He saw a knowing smile on Jiraiya’s face and Kakashi simply looked back at him as if saying _What else am I supposed to do?_

“So,” Jiraiya said, turning toward Iruka as Tsunade instructed him to remove his shirt so that she could get a closer look at him. “What’s your name?”

 

Madara hated being in the infirmary. It wasn’t necessarily a dismal place, but he always felt like he’d screwed up when he wound up there. They’d put him in the bed next to the new guy that had gotten himself scratched. What was his name again? Oh, yeah, Hashirama.

Being in the infirmary sucked, but Hashirama made it impossibly worse. The man was an idiot. He wouldn’t shut up, and it was causing Madara to twitch out of annoyance. He knew that he was very close to snapping and cursing at the man to shut up. Madara didn’t want to, however, because despite his chattiness, he seemed to be a genuinely chipper person. He was happy and _nice_. It was a strange feeling to see someone so upbeat. Madara couldn’t find it in himself to be mean to him…it was akin to the thought of being rude to a small child.

“How long have you been here?” Hashirama asked him curiously, bringing him out of his contemplation.

“Around ten years,” Madara replied. “I was a part of the original group of people here. A spot in the middle of the town was a safe-haven for the uninfected guarded by the military. There was a huge fence that surrounded this large neighborhood. After the military mostly died out, thanks to a rather bad invasion of the infected, Sarutobi took over as leader, and no one really disputed it. He’s a good man with good morals. He rallied us up and a group of the strongest civilians along with the rest of the military men went out and started clearing out the majority of the infected. After a while, we began to expand our perimeter, and finally put up a wall of sorts to keep them out.”

“Really?” Hashirama asked, his brown eyes widening at the explanation. He looked fascinated. His expression was nothing short of awestruck. “It sounds like we finally made it to a good place. It’s such a relief.” He suddenly sounded extremely tired, as though he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

“What have you been doing this entire time?” Madara questioned.

Hashirama was silent for a moment, looking at Madara, but it was as though he wasn’t really seeing him. The look on his face became incredibly sad, and Madara wondered what horrors he was envisioning. It was a look that Madara had seen from nearly all of the newcomers.

“My family lived on the outskirts of the Fire Country,” Hashirama told Madara. “On the night of the outbreak, my parents were killed trying to save me and Tobirama. We were only fifteen and seventeen at the time and were terrified and grief stricken. I took charge and brought Tobirama to a clearing, deep in the forest. There was a river there. We had fresh water and the little bit of food that we’d grabbed from a store on our way out. We stayed there for about a week before Jiraiya and Tsunade found us. We joined as group and have been together ever since, just roaming around.”

Madara grimaced at the thought of this. “It sounds like a horrible existence,” he informed Hashirama quietly. “I don’t know if I would have been able to handle it.”

“It’s not as bad as you might think,” Hashirama told him. “It was horrible at first, but I think that it was that way for everyone in general. After you get past the paranoia and stress of being around the infected in such close quarters, things get better. I traveled around more than I ever have, and I’ve interacted with more people than you might think.”

“With the way that your brother acted when he came up to me, I would think that your interactions with people haven’t been very successful,” Madara responded.

“They all weren’t,” Hashirama admitted, his face saddening even more. “Actually, quite a few of them were horrible. People have turned vicious and bloodthirsty. Not all of them, though. I ran into a family of redheads one time. Their daughter was beautiful and gentle. Her name was Mito, and I swear it was love at first sight!”

Madara couldn’t help but to raise his eyebrows at this. “First sight, huh?” he questioned. “Are you sure that it’s not because it was the first woman other than Tsunade and Kushina that you’ve seen in quite a while?”

“It’s not that,” Hashirama protested. “She was beautiful and fierce! The way that she tore down the infected was stunning. It was like an art that only she’d mastered!”

That response on its own disturbed Madara more than just about anything else that Hashirama had told him. It also reminded him of his stupid, masochistic younger brother. Izuna had a thing for strong and, frankly, scary women. If they couldn’t stomp him into the dirt effortlessly, he didn’t want them. So, Hashirama was one of _those_.

The door opened to the ward, and Madara turned to look at their visitors. Three men walked through the door. Izuna, Tobirama, and Sarutobi. The old man looked tired, haggard really, and Madara couldn’t help but wonder how much longer he was going to be able to take the pressure of running this place. The thought of him stepping down scared Madara, because he didn’t know who else could properly take his place. It wouldn’t take much for there to be total chaos and all of the work that had gone into making this town safe over the past ten years to be completely erased.

“You two seem to be doing well,” Sarutobi said as he and the other two walked further inside. The door shut behind them and the old man took a seat on an unoccupied bed next to Madara. He smiled warmly at him and then turned to look at Hashirama, giving him the same look. “I’m glad of it. Hopefully, you’ll both be able to walk out of here tomorrow in much better condition.”

“Has someone reprimanded Kakashi yet?” Madara questioned almost immediately. That little brat was still on the forefront of his mind. The thought of something happening to him out of his blatant disregard for his own safety had Madara’s heart clenching and his stomach churning. The silvery-haired boy had grown onto him despite his sour attitude and prickly disposition. He really was a good kid.

“He’s with his father now,” Sarutobi assured Madara. “I’m sure Sakumo will have a good talk with him.” He smiled a bit humorously and added, “From what I’m told, Iruka might have taken care of any necessary punishment. I hear he has a mean right-hook.”

Madara couldn’t help but remember the punch to the jaw that Kakashi had received from the distraught boy. He hadn’t been able to properly enjoy it because of the rolling nausea and a horrible headache, but the memory did bring him a little warmth. _Someone_ needed to knock some sense into him, and Iruka seemed to be more than qualified for the job.

“I’ve come here to explain what happened earlier,” Sarutobi said. “Kotetsu and Izumo were in charge of the gate when you guys showed up.”

Madara immediately tensed, his head pounding as his blood pressure rose. “When I get out of here, I’m going to—”

“It’s not their fault, Madara,” Sarutobi said. “You guys weren’t due back for another two days at the least.”

“They’re still supposed to be at the gate!” Madara argued angrily. “Honestly, they have one job!”

“They were doing something else that was more important than standing guard at a gate,” Sarutobi assured him. “That weak spot toward the back of the town has gotten weaker. It’s a lot worse than we thought. Three infected were able to get inside. Itachi and Kagami came across them. Kagami was holding them off, and he sent Itachi to go and get help. Kotetsu and Izumo were the only two guards that Itachi knew the location of. They left to go and help Kagami.”

“What are we doing about the breach?” Madara questioned, quickly moving past his anger at the two best friends.

“It’s being handled,” Sarutobi said. “Let’s get off that subject for now.” He turned to Hashirama and said, “I’m Hiruzen Sarutobi, and I’m the leader of this small town. It’s a pleasure to have you and your group join us. I make a point to personally speak to all newcomers.” He got off the bed and walked to Hashirama, sticking out his hand. “I’m glad that you’ve made it to us.”

Hashirama smiled at Sarutobi and grabbed the older man’s hand, shaking it. “I’m glad to be here. It’s been a long time, and I was despairing that we’d never find a safe place. I feel as though I can breathe a little easier now.”

“Well, I’m very happy that’s the case,” Sarutobi said. “I’m going to let the others have a tour of the town today, and when you’re feeling well enough, young man, you’ll get a tour of your own. Perhaps Madara would be so kind as to give it to you. I’m sure that you’ve both hit it off quite well.”

Madara didn’t know if he would go as far as to say that, but he had to admit that he liked Hashirama a hell of a lot more than he liked his brother. He supposed that he didn’t have much of a problem showing the eccentric around. “That’s fine,” he finally shrugged.

“Well,” Sarutobi said. “I’m going to have Kakashi and Iruka show your group around. I figured that we ought to keep new faces at a minimum until you’re properly acclimated to your new surroundings.”

Tobirama nodded in agreement and Sarutobi walked toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Well then come on, son. I’ll take you to the others and then I’ll send the two boys to you.”

Tobirama waved at Hashirama before he wordlessly walked out of the room. The man hadn’t even really spoken to Hashirama. How cold could one person be? He’d been so adamant to get his brother the medical attention he deserved, but he was acting as though he couldn’t care less. Madara shook himself out of his thoughts and just turned to look at his own brother, who was standing at the back of the room still with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What’s your problem?” Madara asked him, raising an eyebrow. Izuna had been nothing short of moody as of late, and it was starting to concern and annoy Madara at the same time. It was as though he wanted to coddle his brother and take what was bugging him away and bash him over the head as hard as he could at the same time. Talk about warring urges.

“Nothing,” Izuna replied quickly as he immediately relaxed his pose and waltzed across the room to Madara, acting a bit more normal…not that Madara bought it at all.

“So, you’re that asshole’s brother?” Izuna questioned over at Hashirama. The blunt way he spoke was as though he honestly didn’t care about how Hashirama felt about the statement, because it was a truthful one. “I hope you have a better disposition than he does.”

“I hope Tobirama wasn’t that disagreeable,” Hashirama said weakly. His tone gave away what Madara needed to know. Tobirama was an asshole _all_ of the time, and Hashirama knew it. He supposed that it was brotherly obligation to act as though you didn’t know that your sibling was a total douche.

Izuna made a noise in the back of his throat as he crossed his arms over his chest again. “Define disagreeable,” Izuna said dryly.

Hashirama sighed. “It’s not really his fault. He doesn’t trust anyone that’s not in our little group. He has his reasons, you guys. They’re not mine to share, but I can’t really blame him for the way that he acts.”

Madara wondered if Hashirama was referring to the not-so successful run-ins with others. Madara had figured that was the reason, but he couldn’t help but be curious as to what had happened so badly that it had mentally scarred him. It wasn’t any of his business, however, and he was just going to stay out of it and stay away from Tobirama. It was the easiest thing to do, and it was definitely the best way to keep his blood pressure down.

 

Sarutobi left him outside of a rather large and spacious two-story brick home. There was a large porch with a large pediment over it, held up by tall Doric columns, stretching up to the second story. Four rocking chairs were sitting out on the exterior, rocking gently in the breeze. It was beautiful, much nicer than anything that he’d ever been brought to, even before the apocalypse.

He just sighed and slowly walked up the stairs and opened up the door. He immediately walked into a sitting room. There were two chairs, a loveseat and a couch all facing a large fireplace from different angles. Jiraiya, Tsunade, Minato and Kushina were all sitting on the different pieces of furniture. A small fire was crackling merrily from the fireplace, seemingly entrancing them all into a peaceful silence before Tobirama walked in. They all turned and looked at him almost simultaneously.

“Hey,” he said quietly. “I saw Hashirama. He’s doing very well, from what I can tell. It seems as though he and Madara will make fast friends.”

“He makes fast friends with everyone,” Jiraiya chuckled. “I’m not surprised.”

“Sarutobi told me that there was a breach in the wall,” Tobirama reported, effectively changing the subject to more important matters. “It’s being taken care of, but it’s obvious that they’re not doing what’s needed to keep the barrier infected-proof. From the sound of it, this place could go to hell any minute.”

“Well,” Minato said. “It’s not like we can’t pitch in to fortify things. I don’t think that it would be much of a problem to secure everything.”

“You can’t just walk into some place and start telling people what they’re doing wrong,” Jiraiya told Minato. “They’re not going to take too kindly to something like that.”

“I’m not suggesting that we come in here and just start taking over,” Minato said quickly. “I just think that nobody would complain to anyone offering to help. While we’re at it, we can just start nudging them in the right direction. I’m not even trying to say that they’re incompetent, but I do believe that they’ve become complacent in the past ten years of having nothing to worry about, not that I even blame them. Us, on the other hand, we know how strong the infected are, and we can better judge how to keep them out.”

“He’s not wrong,” Tsunade said. “Sarutobi seemed to be a very nice and understanding man. We can speak to him once we’ve properly settled in. I don’t want to push things before then.”

“She’s right,” Kushina said. “These people were kind enough to take us in when we don’t really have anything to offer them. We don’t need to start pushing things right off the bat.” She turned and gave Tobirama a pointed look, letting him know that he was exactly who she was talking about.

“I’ll do what you guys want me to do,” Tobirama said. “I don’t care as long as we’re all safe.”

“You know that means that you can’t go around acting all suspicious of people, right?” Jiraiya questioned him, raising an eyebrow. “I’m serious about that, Tobirama. You might not trust them, but don’t show it. Trust is a lot like respect. The only way that you’re going to earn it is if you show it as well. The most suspicious people are generally the ones that you need to be most weary of.”

Tobirama sighed, hating that he was hearing this _again_. It wasn’t the first time that Jiraiya had lectured him on trusting others, but he had a few physical scars to remind him of why that was a generally bad idea. It was his general rule of thumb to not allow others close to him. He absently stroked the scar on his cheek as he thought about it.

“I’ll be sure to act as though I trust them fully, Jiraiya,” Tobirama promised him. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

The two teenagers showed up maybe twenty minutes after Tobirama did. There were three consecutive knocks on the door before it opened, revealing a surly-looking boy with silvery hair, grey eyes and pale skin and a tanned boy with brown eyes, a scar that ran across his nose, and a soft, open expression. They both walked inside and shut the door behind them. The tanned boy spoke up first.

“Hello. I’m Iruka and this is Kakashi,” he gestured toward the pale boy. “We’re here to take you on a tour of the place. I hope that you’re all rested enough to walk around.”

Tobirama raised an eyebrow at the bruise that was starting to form on Kakashi’s cheek. Iruka really did have a mean swing. He immediately looked away, however, figuring that the younger boy didn’t want any attention drawn to it. Tobirama did have tact and knew that making a large spectacle about it would only alienate the boy away from him. He didn’t need to make any enemies, especially over something so stupid.

Everyone began getting to their feet. Minato smiled at them warmly and said, “We’re all plenty rested, and we’d love to see what this place is like. I’m Minato, by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you two.”

 

The tour wasn’t really all that interesting, though it was a miracle in itself what they were seeing. The town was a wide and short rectangle that covered what was probably nearly a square mile worth of space. Apparently, it held a bit over a hundred people inside, which might have shocked Tobirama more than anything. Crops were grown on the far left of the town, while animals were bred and raised on the far right. The neighborhood used to belong to wealthy men and women, most of which were either dead or infected. All of the houses were as large, or larger than the one that Tobirama’s group had been given.

 Some of the uninhabited homes held goods, such as crops, cans of food, meats, blankets, beds, clothes, and many more things that Iruka hadn’t thought of off the top of his head. The house that was placed at the very center of the town was a townhall of sorts. It was where Sarutobi spend most of his time, keeping up with what everyone was doing and making sure that things were running smoothly.

They even had a jail. It was a fortified house at the back of the town. Iron bars were placed across all of the windows, and apparently the doors to the bedrooms had been replaced with iron doors as well. Guards were posted on the inside and outside of it at all times, though there were very few times that anyone needed it. Nearly everyone inside of the walls seemed to get that teamwork and cooperation were needed for things to go smoothly and didn’t do anything to try and disrupt the order of the town.

There was a graveyard not too far from the jail. It was a fenced off extension outside of the town with a little gate of its own. It was a large space, but there weren’t very many people inside of it. Tobirama figured that most of the deaths that happened to the people that lived there probably didn’t occur from natural causes. Most of them probably died on the outside during runs and were left behind out of necessity, as sad as it was.

The mess hall was near the middle of the town, near Sarutobi’s workplace. Apparently, they’d demoed the home with the largest kitchen to give the people that worked inside enough space to cook for everyone. Iruka explained that most jobs around the town were done in turns, including cooking, cleaning and guard duty. There were specialized jobs, such as medicine, that were only taken care of by those who were properly trained to do so, though it was always possible to be trained in such things if anyone wished to go down a certain path.

Apparently, Iruka was being trained to properly take care of and teach young children. Tobirama could see that with his kind and soft disposition. Kakashi, on the other hand, was being trained as a Scavenger. When Jiraiya asked what that was, Kakashi finally spoke up to explain.

“A Scavenger is a person that leaves the town to collect supplies and scout out any possible recruits to the town.”

Minato was the one with a problem with this answer. He frowned at Kakashi confusedly. “You’re…how old?”

“Sixteen,” Kakashi replied. “Or at least I think that’s how old I think I am.”

“That seems about right,” Jiraiya agreed.

“It’s dangerous out there,” Kushina said, saying what Minato was so obviously hinting at. “Why are you going out there at your age. Surely there’s something else that you could be doing.”

“Kakashi’s a prodigy at it,” Iruka explained. If the disapproval in his tone wasn’t enough to convey his distaste for the fact, the look on his face spoke volumes on its own. “As long as Madara, Izuna, or Mr. Sakumo is with him, then Sarutobi will allow him to go out and get some practice at it.”

“Really?” Minato questioned, sounding somewhere between impressed and disapproving. He smiled warmly at Kakashi after a moment and said, “If that’s the case, would you want to train with me? I’m sure that you could help me keep my skills sharp.”

Kakashi looked at him, completely unimpressed. “I don’t need you patronizing me.”

“No,” Minato said quickly. “I’m totally serious. I saw that you saved Kushina and Hashirama while we were outside of the fence. You really are good! I’d love to spar with you.”

Kakashi’s frown softened a bit before he nodded. “I guess we could.”

Minato’s smile got even larger at this.

“You wouldn’t mind showing me around the place that they care for children, would you, Iruka?” Kushina questioned him after a moment, placing both hands on her stomach. “I’m about to pop with this little one, and I’d love to know what kind of environment that he would be in around here.”

Iruka smiled at her and nodded his head. “Of course! I’m sure that everyone would be excited to know that there’s a baby on the way. Sasuke Uchiha was the last baby born, and that was a few months ago. There are a few more babies around, but there’s nothing like an infant.”

Kushina positively beamed at that, and Tobirama had a feeling that the younger man had just wormed his way into Kushina’s heart almost effortlessly. Well…at least they were making friends, he supposed.

 

Madara was summoned to Sarutobi’s office as soon as he was finished giving Hashirama a tour the following day. The long-haired man was still sickly, so he’d dropped him off at his new home before he made his way to the central brick house. He walked in and nodded toward Kagami, who had apparently been given the lovely job of sorting through all of the documents from that week. They probably consisted of shortages from the city, who was doing what jobs and many other boring facts that were key to keeping this town running smoothly. Kagami looked as though he was about to fall asleep when he waved back at Madara, who noticed with a twinge of regret that he was sporting two black eyes.

Sarutobi’s main office was the master bedroom on the first floor. It had been converted into a very efficient workspace, complete with a desk that held quite a few sheets of paper. He imagined that this was what politicians’ desks would look have looked like back before the end of the civilized world, except that all of the papers were written out by hand.

He knocked on the door and waited for the _come in_ that sounded a few moments later. He opened the door up and stepped inside. Sarutobi was sitting behind his desk in the middle of the room and looked up at Madara as he walked closer. He smiled kindly at him and gestured for him to take a seat, an offer that Madara was only too happy to comply with. His head was still a bit tender from his fall the day before.

“You wanted to see me?” Madara questioned.

“Yes, I did,” Sarutobi said. “I wanted to speak to you in privet about our newest guests. Due to your injury yesterday, there was no time at all for it.”

“Of course,” Madara said, wondering how he could have forgotten about that. Sarutobi liked to ask the scavengers that brought newcomers inside about the people. It was a way to gage them properly, skillsets and how trustworthy that they might be.

“Your brother was drugged for the majority of the time that you were with them yesterday, correct?” Sarutobi questioned. “He mentioned that he hadn’t been able to get a good feel for them with how long he had been in his right mind, though he had some very colorful things to say about Tobirama.”

“Yes,” Madara said. “The doctor of their group, Tsunade, drugged him when they ambushed him behind the gas station that we had stopped by.”

“Were you able to obtain any information on them at all while you were with them?”

“A little,” Madara replied. “Jiraiya, the leader of their group from what I can tell, road with Izuna and me on the way here and I asked him a few questions. He was more than happy to give me any information that I wanted. From what I can tell, Tsunade and Hashirama are both very skilled medics, though Tsunade is more so. Minato and Tobirama are both very powerful and competent when it comes to getting supplies. They would make good Scavengers. Kushina is one hell of a cook, and Jiraiya does a bit of everything, though I think that he might be more cut out for scavenging as well.”

“I imagine with how they’ve been living over the past decade, they would all be good at scavenging,” Sarutobi mused. “Personality-wise, how are they?”

“Hashirama is definitely the most sociable one,” Madara reported. “I don’t think that he would have a problem acclimating to the new lifestyle. He’s a people-person, so he should be fine living around so many.”

“The others?” Sarutobi questioned.

“Tsunade has a bit of a temper,” Madara continued. “She’s curt and surly, but her and Jiraiya will probably integrate just fine. Minato and Kushina seem to be pretty normal as well. The only person that I foresee having an issue with being around so many people is Tobirama. If anyone is going to cause a problem around here, it’s going to be him. He’s surly with a really bad attitude.”

“I have spoken with Jiraiya,” Sarutobi said. “I hear that you and Tobirama did not get off on the right foot when you first ran into him. Is it your dislike of the man that is prompting you to say this, or are you certain?”

“My personal feelings have nothing to do with this,” Madara informed him. “He doesn’t trust me, and I know that he doesn’t trust this town. Apparently, they’ve had some run-ins with some very bad people in the past, and it’s made him paranoid. There might not be a way to change his mind about this one.”

“There’s always a way to change people’s minds, no matter what they’ve been through,” Sarutobi assured him. “I’m sure that deep down he wants to trust us and to feel safe here. I don’t expect any of them to lower their guards after only a day here. If they were that complacent, they wouldn’t still be alive. We’ll just have to try hard to make them feel at home.”

Madara nodded slowly at this.

“That being said, we’re not that complacent either,” Sarutobi said. “I want you to stick with them. Keep an eye on them, and make sure that they’re not dangerous. This is their trial period, though they might not know it. If they do anything suspicious, I want to know about it immediately.”

Madara nodded his head in acknowledgement. “I understand,” he said. “I’m not trying to stick up for them, or anything, but I don’t have a bad feeling about them at all. I do think that they’re just weary travelers that just want to settle down and be safe after all of the danger that they’ve had to live through for so long.”

“For their sakes,” Sarutobi said. “I hope that you’re right.”

Madara couldn’t help but agree. They had a no-tolerance policy for internal threats. They would send people to jail for doing stupid minor things, but they wouldn’t tolerate a threat to their safety. If the town became compromised, the threat would be heartlessly eliminated. They wouldn’t be given a chance to leave, they would simply be executed, and their bodies would be burned to erase any traces that they had ever been there in the first place.

“Is there anything else that you needed from me?” Madara asked.

Sarutobi was silent for a moment, clearly thinking the question over. He nodded his head after a few beats of silence. “Actually, there is. You and Izuna didn’t get very far on your run yesterday. I’m not telling you to leave again right away or anything but be prepared to be sent out again soon. We’re running dangerously short on certain supplies.”

Madara slowly nodded. “I’ll be ready whenever you want me to go.”

“One last thing before you can leave,” Sarutobi said. “I want you to take Kakashi out with you. The boy is going stir crazy being cooped up inside for so long. I’m afraid that he might try to wander out on his own if we don’t let him leave out pretty soon.”

“He’s only sixteen,” Madara protested. “He was nearly killed the last time we were out, and he watched his two partners die. He needs to stay inside of the walls and recover. He has no business leaving.”

“I know that he’s young and that he really shouldn’t be going anywhere,” Sarutobi agreed, “but this place isn’t a jail, and I’d hate for him to come to think of it as that. He’ll probably grow up resenting this place and leaving when he gets a bit older if we treat him like a prisoner. Just take him with you and make sure that he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Madara just sighed. “If that’s what you want, I can do it.” He pushed himself to his feet and walked toward the door. “I’m going to go and find Izuna, and then we’ll both take a trip to the newcomers’ house to keep an eye on them.”

Madara didn’t know why Sarutobi didn’t just officially tell the new guys that they were going to be on a probation period when they first got to the town. It was fairly obvious that they were being watched just by how people acted around them. He supposed that it was to weed out the stupid ones with bad intentions. He guessed that it didn’t really matter. It was his newest job, and he would do it to the best of his ability.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoyed the read. I know that the chapter was super long, but I hope that it was still good! How well do you think that the group is going to integrate itself into the town? Also, sorry for the lack of Tobirama/Madara action in this one. The next one will have some inside. Have no worries!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good and bad news starts to get around, and mutual understandings are met between a few people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this out before I forgot, but that being said, it isn't as polished as it could be. My apologies for the crudeness of it. I'll be sure to go back through it later (probably tomorrow or Saturday) and polish it up! I hope that you enjoy anyway.

The first few days of living in the town went by fairly quickly. Tobirama was sure to act as normally as he could, following after how his older brother and the others did. He really did try but being open and friendly wasn’t his forte. It hadn’t been something that he was good at before the apocalypse, and that didn’t look as though it was going to be changing anytime soon.

No one really approached them other than Madara and Izuna. If Tobirama was honest, however, he would have preferred to have had no one at all if that were the case. He didn’t know how many more poisonous looks from either brother that he would be able to silently take. He had a pretty strong grip on his temper, but it still had a limit. By the third day, he was at his tipping point.

He and Hashirama were sitting on the porch outside, speaking softly to each other about nothing of any particular importance. It was something that they hadn’t been able to do in a long time. Tobirama was actually starting to feel relaxed as Hashirama babbled on about the medical facility that he and Tsunade had gone and toured the day before. Apparently, it was a pretty sweet setup from what Hashirama was talking about, complete with a very large supply of medicines and a small surgery ward.

He looked away from his brother’s bright face and out toward the street. A few people were walking by, some were families with small children, while others were lone men and women, walking briskly as though they really had somewhere they had to be. Only a few of them spared glances toward the pair on the porch, but most of them were either weary or blatantly suspicious.

He sighed in resignation when he saw a familiar pair of brother walking up the street toward their house. They turned into the house’s driveway and climbed the steps to the porch a moment later. Hashirama cheerily waved at them, and Tobirama followed suit halfheartedly.

“Good morning,” Hashirama greeted.

Madara and Izuna both mumbled a response before they sat down in the other two chairs. Izuna looked as though he was actually in an amazing mood, probably the most cheerful Tobirama had ever seen him…off the effects of Tsunade’s sedatives, of course. Madara, on the other hand, looked downright miserable. He looked over at Tobirama and Hashirama for a moment. His gaze zeroed in on Tobirama after a few heartbeats, and the look on his face became even more sour.

Tobirama raised an eyebrow at this. It was an innocent enough look compared to the irritation that was rolling around in his gut at the other man’s expression alone. He hadn’t done anything at all to this man since he’d gotten there. Hell, he hadn’t so much as said a word to him!

“Something on your mind, Uchiha?” Tobirama asked softly, though he was sure to lace his voice with a very clear, and hopefully tempting, challenge.

If anything, Madara’s expression became even darker. He immediately averted his gaze and looked out toward the street, as though there was something interesting happening on the cracked asphalt. “You could say that, Senju,” Madara replied softly.

Tobirama remained silent, waiting for him to go on and tell him what it was. Madara didn’t respond. He simply sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his forefinger tightly as he clenched his eyes shut.

“Sarutobi talked to me last night,” Madara said. “I’m here to deliver a message. Izuna, Kakashi and Minato are going to be going out on a run soon…within the next couple of days. You and I, on the other hand, are going to be heading out tomorrow morning. We’re going to the nearby hardware store and getting some needed supplies to patch up that weakness in the barrier at the back of the town.”

Tobirama didn’t like the sound of that arrangement at all, but there was another part of that point that he didn’t believe. “You guys really trust us enough to send us out already?”

Madara’s eyebrow raised at that statement. A small smile twitched at the corner of his lips as he breathed out a small laugh. “Caught onto that, have you?”

“Did you think that we were stupid?” Tobirama inquired. “Honestly, Uchiha…do you think that we survived ten years off of luck alone? Don’t insult us because you guys think you’re so superior, hiding behind walls for ten years.”

“Tobira—” Hashirama’s panicked warning was quickly cut off by Madara, who straightened up immediately. His face darkened; his expression went from unhappy to positively murderous so quickly that it was impossible to actually watch the transformation.

“The only thing that I can think of, is that you’re obviously not as intelligent as you seem to think that you are!” Madara informed him. “You act as though you didn’t need our help to heal your brother!”

Tobirama stood up at this and took a step toward Madara, who stood up as well, obviously unintimidated. “Let’s get one thing straight,” Tobirama snapped at him. “You’re only alive because of the rest of my group. The same thing goes for your brother. Both of you would be dead, and your supplies would have become my group’s supplies if I would have had my way. That’s the way that the world works outside of these gates. Anything is yours if you’re willing to fight and kill for it. I promise you, that I’ve never had a problem with—”

“Tobi!” Hashirama snapped at him, grabbing his shoulder and yanking him back harshly. Tobirama was spun around and found himself behind Hashirama, who was standing in between him and Madara.

Izuna had gotten to his feet as well and had a hand on Madara’s shoulder. His dark eyes were widened in obvious panic. “Remember, brother, that they are our guests here!”

Hashirama shot a glance behind him and said, “Like he said, Tobirama. We’re their guests here. We might have spared their lives, but they ensured that ours would be quite a bit longer. There’s no call for us to fight and argue with any of them. Let’s keep the peace.”

Silence stretched a few beats, and Tobirama felt his anger reel in a bit. He just glared at Madara over Hashirama’s shoulder and saw that Madara was reciprocating the look. He fought back the urge to curse at him, knowing that it would just be childish at this point.

“Can you just give Minato the memo?” Izuna asked curtly, looking directly at Hashirama. Tobirama figured that he probably hit a nerve with Izuna as well.

“You sure that it’s a good idea to send the two of them out alone?” Hashirama inquired. Tobirama felt heat bubbling in his stomach. It was annoyance at Hashirama talking about him as though he wasn’t there.

“I’m sure that they can get over their differences,” Izuna assured him. “It’ll all be fine!”

Tobirama saw Izuna tug and Madara was turned around. The man was incredibly stiff as his younger brother pushed him toward the stairs and basically led him out of the yard.

Hashirama sighed, and Tobirama saw his brother visibly deflate. He slowly turned around to look at him, and his dark eyes were drooped a bit. “Tobi,” he sighed, sounding a bit tired. “What happened? You know that we have to get along with them. Madara didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know,” Tobirama said, because it really was true. He’d just looked at Tobirama the wrong way, and Tobirama had been the one to start the argument. He just wanted to lash out at him. It was an urge that was unfamiliar to him, though it could very well just be because they got off on the wrong foot immediately.

He just sighed in agitation. He and Madara were never going to be able to get along, but Tobirama was going to have to control his temper better. He wasn’t going to be the cause of another argument. The next time, it might not just be the four of them. It could happen in front of a lot of people with a lot of power. Tobirama wouldn’t be the cause of his family being ejected from this safe haven.

“I’ll apologize to him the next time that I see him,” Tobirama promised his older brother, figuring that the reassurance would be enough to calm him. Hashirama, however, still looked upset.

“You shouldn’t have to apologize to him, because it never should have happened,” Hashirama said. “I know that it’s been a while since you’ve been around others, but—”

“I get it,” Tobirama snapped, cutting him off. He pushed past Hashirama and walked toward the steps. “Just go and tell Minato about his excursion.”

Before Hashirama could say anything else, Tobirama was walking out of the yard. He needed some space to clear his head, which wasn’t something that he was going to be able to get at that house if he stayed.

 

 

Madara was positively fuming as Izuna led him down the street, away from the newcomers’ house. “Who the hell does that guy think he is? I didn’t even say anything wrong!”

“Calm down,” Izuna said to him, though Madara barely heard him with how calm his voice was, as though he was trying to make him absorb some of his vibes. “If you don’t calm down, then you’re just going to be miserable all day. You know how you get, big brother.”

Madara sighed, knowing that Izuna was right, but that didn’t help. If knowing that he was getting angry was enough to stop him from being angry, then he would be a totally calm person all of the time. In reality, he was mostly high-strung, and easily pissed off. His temper wasn’t something that he was able to control very well, and there was something about that smug bastard that set him off even more.

“I am calm,” Madara snapped at him finally, knowing that Izuna wasn’t going to believe him because it obviously wasn’t the truth.

Izuna gave him a look, making it painfully clear that he didn’t believe a word that Madara had said. “Sure,” Izuna said slowly after a few moments, “because that’s exactly what people are going to think when they see that expression on your face.”

Madara scowled at him, unwilling to reply to that comment. It didn’t matter that Izuna might have been right. He didn’t need anyone telling him that he needed to calm down after he’d basically been called incompetent by a cold-hearted, arrogant jerk. It was as though he was trying to insult Madara and the rest of the people in the town by basically calling them inferior because they didn’t live beyond the walls. It didn’t matter. Madara had nothing to prove to anyone, much less that pale freak.

_Then why are you so angry about it?_ He asked himself. It was a really good question; one he didn’t have an answer to. Was it because there was some truth to the words? Normally that was the only reason that people were angry over something that someone else said.

_No,_ Madara decided, _it’s not true. There’s no difference between him and me, other than a bit of experience. It’s not like I don’t go into the field all of the time anyway._ Madara was out of the town half of the time, scavenging neighborhoods far away, checking for dangers, other people, and supplies. He had plenty of experience in dealing with the infected and psychotics from other groups.

“Come on,” Madara grumbled. “Kakashi got stuck with walking the perimeter of the fence.” It was a dull job that involved checking every square inch for potential weaknesses. Most people didn’t take the job very seriously, which is how the breach in the back had gotten there in the first place. Madara couldn’t judge or look down on the people that had blown off the duty, because he was one of them. It didn’t seem like such a big deal or an important job until there was a weakness that just got worse and something got through. No one was hurt by the three that had gotten in a few days before, but the event could have been disastrous.

It wasn’t hard to find him. He and Iruka were on their hands and knees, grabbing at the bottom of a section of the iron fence and tugging on it to check how sturdy it was. They were on the west side of the fence, and the section that they were at looked rather rusted, as though it might need to be reinforced.

Both boys straightened up so that they were sitting on their knees and turned to look at Madara and Izuna approaching. Kakashi looked nothing more than bored, and Iruka didn’t look much better. Madara figured that it was his forced upbeat attitude that caused him to look less putout than Kakashi.

“Hey, brat,” Madara called over to him. He immediately felt a little bit better by the way that Kakashi’s face scrunched up in distaste at the nickname that Madara had stubbornly kept calling him over the past seven or so years. He couldn’t really remember how long it had been since Kakashi and his father had arrived in the town.

“Don’t look so upset, Hatake,” Izuna advised him, a grin on his own face. “We have some good news to tell you.”

“Really?” Kakashi asked, pushing himself to his feet. He immediately turned and offered his hand to Iruka, who took it with a grateful smile and allowed the older to help him to his feet. Once Iruka was up, Kakashi turned to look at the pair of brother again. “What kind of good news could you possibly have for someone like me? The last time I checked, I was on a forced vacation, and on nearly everyone’s shit-list for the _stunt I pulled_ a few days ago.”

“You really should try and sound more optimistic,” Izuna teased him. “You’re going to be with me in a couple of days. You, Minato and I are going out on a mission.”

Kakashi was silent, though his eyes widened a fraction, showing his surprise, though he immediately covered it up with pure indifference. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at them as with pursed lips. “Is this a joke? I’m going to be stuck in here for the next two months. I was just told that last week. Honestly, you two shouldn’t joke around. You’re not very good at it.”

“I don’t have much of a sense of humor,” Madara informed him. “Do you really think that I’m going to waste my time and come to you just to tell a joke?”

At that admission, Kakashi’s eyebrows raised. “Where are we going to?”

“We’re scouting out a bit farther out from our last check point,” Izuna replied. “According to the maps in the central house, there’s a small town nearby and we’re going to go in and check out some of the neighborhoods on the outskirts. Be ready for at least a week away. We’re looking to hit at least two complete neighborhoods before we leave…more if we can manage.”

Kakashi nodded at this and Madara sighed, wishing that he was doing something else, anything other than what he was going to have to do the next day. Jealousy burned in his stomach at Kakashi and Izuna. Minato seemed to be a very nice person, and Madara would much rather be out with him than with Tobirama, who seemed to be the only bad-tempered person out of the entire lot of them.

“What’s wrong with you?” Iruka asked, sounding genuinely concerned. “You look like you’re not feeling too good. Are you getting sick?”

He heard Izuna snickering next to him. “He wishes that he was getting sick!” his brother informed as he laughed. “It’s his punishment for tomorrow!” Madara didn’t even look over as he shot out his elbow. He felt it connect with something solid and heard his brother stumble to the side and lose his breath. He turned and saw Izuna doubled over his hand covering a part on his side.

“Fuck you!” he wheezed. Madara smirked at this and breathed out a low laugh through his nose.

He turned to look at Iruka again, feeling much better than he had a few moments ago…there was just something about causing his brother pain that made him feel like everything was alright. “I’m fine,” Madara assured Iruka. He reached over and ruffled his hair, causing the younger man to slap his hand away with a frown. He took a step back with a smirk and looked over at Izuna, who was still cradling his side and glaring at Madara. “Don’t be such a baby. I didn’t hit you that hard.”

Izuna mumbled something under his breath, Madara was fairly sure that it was nothing complimentary toward him. He breathed out a laugh as he turned back around and looked at the younger duo.

“We’ll leave you guys to get back to work,” he said as he reached over and snatched his younger brother backward. “Have fun.”

He heard both boys curse at him as he and his brother walked away. “You take too much pleasure in tormenting those younger than you,” Izuna grumbled at him. “I hope that it eventually comes back and bites you in the ass.”

“You don’t actually mean that,” Madara informed him with a little grin.

“Don’t be so sure,” Izuna advised.

 

 

Tobirama was sitting on an old bench on the right side of the town. It was a small park, just a tiny lot with an even tinier playground for children and a few trees to shade the space. The lawn definitely wasn’t kept up, but the grass was dying, keeping it fairly short. The cool air was enough to sooth him at least a little bit, cooling him down after he lost his temper.

He sighed and closed his eyes as he allowed the cool wind sensation to sooth him.

“I’m surprised to see you out here by yourself,” a low voice sounded in his ears. Tobirama cracked an eye open and saw a younger man walking toward him. He had shaggy and spikey dark hair with dark eyes and pale skin. He was in that strange transition phase between childhood and adult hood. His face, which had lost most of its youthful roundness was soft and kind. His smile was gentle, but Tobirama knew just by the way that he walked that he could be hard and ruthless just as easily as he could be kind and nice if the situation called for it.

“You here to keep an eye on me?” Tobirama questioned. He figured that he would probably be there to talk to him after he’d basically threatened Madara just a little bit earlier.

“No,” the young man replied easily. “I didn’t think that you required a babysitter. I figured that you were plenty capable from the way that you were tearing down those infected a few days ago.”

“I figured that was why I required one,” Tobirama said. “I know that you guys don’t trust us very much yet, and I can’t blame you for it.”

“You look unhappy,” the man said. “Is it because we don’t trust you yet?”

Tobirama just shook his head. He had no inclination of sharing his issues with a complete stranger, no matter how genuine and innocent they seemed about their curiosity. He had to admit that he respected that the younger hadn’t tried to even hide that Tobirama was yet to be trusted. He walked closer to him and asked, “Would you mind if I took a seat?”

Tobirama just shook his head. Sure, he would prefer to be alone, but it wasn’t as though the bench had his name on it. If he wanted to sit, then he could sit.

“I’m Kagami, by the way. I’m Madara and Izuna’s little cousin,” he introduced himself as he sat down. “You’re Tobirama, correct?”

Tobirama nodded in confirmation before he turned and look another sweeping look at the park. He knew that he should probably be annoyed by the other man’s presence, but he was so calm that it really didn’t bug him at all. He felt no aggravation or irritation. This was someone that he could probably be around quite often and not lose his temper. Maybe this place wouldn’t be so bad, especially if there were others like Kagami inside.

“I hear that you have a little excursion with Madara tomorrow,” Kagami continue after a few heartbeats of silence. “It’s really just an excuse to test your skill as a scavenger. They want to make sure that you have what it takes to fight off the infected and can still spot valuable items while you’re outside.”

“I figured as much,” Tobirama sighed. He just didn’t know why it had to be with _Madara_ of all people. Surely, there was someone else that he could go with that he wouldn’t butt heads with so easily.

“You two didn’t get off on the right foot when you first met,” Kagami continued, as if reading his train of thought and rolling with it. “You’ve been labeled as the most…unagreeable of your group. One of the most important traits of scavenging is being able to work as a cohesive unit. This is a way for Sarutobi to determine if you’re going to be able to work with people, even if you would rather not, and get the job done efficiently. I’m sure that you already know that not working together properly can lead to some very bad consequences.”

Tobirama sighed. He hated the thought that he was being tested. It hurt his pride more than he liked to admit. He hated the thought of being viewed as incompetent because he knew that he wasn’t, and he felt as though he had nothing to prove to anyone, much less people that had lived in relative safety for the past ten years or so. It was a in inner battle between his common sense, which was telling him that it was only natural for a group of people to not trust strangers, and his pride, which was snapping at the fact that he was being looked at as though he was some idiot child that had to prove his worth.

“I know,” he finally said. He turned and looked at the younger man. He spoke with much wisdom, which was surprising to Tobirama. “What is it that you do around here?”

Kagami grinned at this. “I do a bit of everything, actually. I’m either helping Sarutobi out in the Central House or guarding the gates. Sometimes I go out on scavenges, but not very often. I’m basically just that useless person that knows how to do a lot of useful things.”

Tobirama felt as though he knew what Kagami was, and he was vastly underplaying his role. He was one of those all-around people that helped keep a place like this running smoothly. They were vital to any kind of institution, something that hadn’t changed with the end of civilization. He was probably known by everyone, and they all flocked to him when they had problems, even if he was very young for that kind of responsibility.

“Why did you come over here to speak with me?” Tobirama asked him. He knew that Kagami could just laugh the question off and tell him that he shouldn’t flatter himself; he could say that it was purely a coincidence and that he had just been passing through when he noticed him, even though they both knew that it would have been a lie.

“I came over here because you seem like an interesting person,” Kagami admitted. “It isn’t often that my older cousin takes in wanderers, especially if he came across them in the way that you two met. He can insist that he brought you guys in because of the pregnant woman in your group and because of your wounded brother, but he isn’t fooling me, even if he is fooling himself. He saw something in your group. I’m not sure if it was in you or not, but you guys have potential to do something great for our group, and I want to try and figure it out for myself. I figure that talking with your guys and getting to know you might be a way for me to figure it out.”

“There’s nothing special about our group,” Tobirama informed him. “We’re just tired and weary travelers. I don’t think that there’s anything particularly special we can offer this town, other than a few more workers.”

Kagami smiled. “You never know, Tobirama. This is a strange and unpredictable world that we live in. There’s a good chance that you guys might be able to do something to make this colony even more prosperous than it already is. You guys were brought here for a reason, and I’m sure that you’ll step up for it when the time comes.”

 

Kagami’s words were still in Tobirama’s head the next morning. It was barely dawn when he had been woken by a knock on the front door. His bedroom was in the hallway nearby. He was a light sleeper from all of the years on the road and he had woken easily from the noise. He shuffled through the living room and opened the door up. Madara was standing on the porch with his arms crossed over his chest.

Tobirama sighed as he remembered his promise to Hashirama the day before. He wasn’t one to go back on his word, no matter how much he would love to just tell the other man to go to hell. Besides, they needed to work together for the day. It would be less tiring if there wasn’t so much tension between them. He doubted that the animosity between them would ever be gone, but Tobirama could try and bring it down to a bearable level.

He gestured for Madara to step inside. The other man did so, being sure to not make too much noise. There was no need in disturbing the ones that could still get some sleep in. “You can just sit down until I’m ready,” Tobirama told him quietly. “I won’t be long.”

Madara nodded curtly and moved to take a seat on the couch. Tobirama silently walked past him and into his room to get ready for the long day ahead. Tobirama quickly grabbed a shirt out of his pack and a pair of jeans. He rushed to pull his pajamas off and his clothes on, quickly slipping into his socks a moment later and stepping into his boots.

He didn’t know why he was hurrying. It wasn’t as though he was in a rush to spend time with that sour bastard. He figured that it was probably just because he didn’t want to give Madara anything to bitch and complain about. He grabbed the fake gun and shoved it inside of his pocket before he picked up his favorite knife, a large bowie knife with a blue handle and serrated edges.

He clipped the sheath onto his belt and pulled his shirt down to cover his stomach. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out to calm himself. He would keep a leash on his temper during this expedition if it was the last thing that he did. The sad thing was that if he had to focus too much on his own temper, it could very well be the last thing that he did.

He scowled at this before he caught himself and relaxed again. Before he could think of anything else to keep him in the room longer out of minuet fits of rage, he simply pushed his door open and stalked out of it, fully composed, even when he looked at Madara in the living room.

The older man stood up as soon as he saw Tobirama. His own face was carefully composed as he turned and looked at Tobirama, who didn’t say anything as he gestured toward the door. Madara nodded curtly before they both turned and walked out of the house.

When they made it to the porch, Tobirama just pinched the bridge of his nose tightly, knowing that it was now or never to clear the air. “Look, Madara,” Tobirama said. The other man had been walking toward the steps, but he stopped as soon as Tobirama spoke. He was frozen in midstride for a moment before he slowly turned around. His expression was tightly controlled, as though he was only a few choice words away from flipping out.

“I just wanted to apologize for the way that I handled myself yesterday morning,” Tobirama said formally. He hated that he had to do this to keep his word to Hashirama, who probably wouldn’t ever know that he had apologized. “I was out of line, and I shouldn’t have antagonized you like that. I don’t know—”

“I don’t like you,” Madara cut him off, looking at Tobirama in contempt. “I won’t ever like you, just like I’m sure that you don’t like me, and you won’t ever like me. I don’t have to like you to watch your back or to know that you’ll watch mine. It just makes it less distracting if one of us were to die during the mission. There would be no grieving to cloud our judgement. Let’s just get this over with so that we can get back here and never speak to one another again. Sound good to you, Tobirama?”

“You know what,” Tobirama said truthfully, “I think those are the wisest words that have ever come out of your mouth.” He gestured for Madara to continue down the steps and followed after him. There was no more awkwardness or uncertainty. They kept moving forward the mutual disdain for each other was the out in the open. If this was the only time that he was going to have to put up with it, then Tobirama couldn’t see this being such a horrible excursion. At least he wasn’t going to have to act as though he could stand this idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys! This chapter was mostly a filler, setting up what's about to come next in the plot. Do you think that the two trips that are about to be taken are going to go smoothly? If not, when what do you think is going to happen to get in the way? Is there anything that you would like to see happen?  
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long delay for an update. Hopefully this longer chapter will be a good apology. I hope you enjoy!

The drive was awkward to say the least. Madara had probably grimaced more during that entire ride than he had in the past ten years. He didn’t know how one man made him more uncomfortable than all of the Infected that he had come across put together. Tobirama, on the other hand, looked as though there was nothing wrong with him at all. That empty look alone grated on his nerves. If Tobirama was making him this damn uncomfortable, it was only fair that he was making the other man the same way!

He acted fine despite the injustice of it all. The stupid drive lasted for well over two hours, and each moment felt like an eternity, but Tobirama acted as though nothing at all was bothering him. His face was as blank and as stoic as it had been from the moment that they’d had the displeasure of meeting. Madara would wonder if he had the mental capacity to feel uncomfortable, but there was an instinctive way that Tobirama carried himself that suggested that he was anything but stupid. Madara hated him even more for that. There had to be something about him that Madara could scathe at other than his horrible personality.

Madara had never been so glad to park a vehicle when they finally got to the shop in his entire life. He turned the truck off and leaned back in his seat for a moment before he turned to look out of his window and at the building that took up the majority of the plot of land. It was a huge store and had probably been either a Lowe’s or a Home Depot before the apocalypse. It was impossible to tell now; nature had not been kind to the building. The letters that had decorated the exterior, advertising what store it was, were gone along with half of the wall. Bullet holes littered the front of the store, and there was no glass left in the windows, and Madara could see the low glimmer of the broken pieces scattered on the ground a bit closer to the store. Madara made a mental note to not drive any closer. It would be horrible if they got stuck with a flat tire, of all things. The last thing that he wanted was such an unwelcome excuse to spend even more time with the white-haired menace.

The day was an overcast, which meant that not much light was pushing through the ominous clouds, leaving the entire store in dark, dangerous-looking shadows. This wasn’t the first time that people from the colony had been in this store. The first time had only been a quick run, which involved merely checking out the area and searching any potential dangers. This was their first major excursion, and Madara didn’t know how he felt about having to go through with something so uncertain in this type of weather. At least in the first run, the scouts had reported that there had been no real threats to the area in general. There were very low numbers of infected, and sane human activity was nonexistent as well.

He spared a quick glance at Tobirama, who was simply looking out of his own window at the store. His back was to Madara, making it impossible to gage any reaction out of him at all. He just mentally shrugged at this and stepped out of the vehicle and took a quick three hundred sixty-degree view of his surroundings. Once he deemed that it was clear of any immediate threats, he allowed himself to begin stretching out his aching muscles from the long ride. He closed his eyes and had to fight back a moan of relief as his spine popped repeatedly, relieving the majority of the pressure from his back. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Tobirama was looking at him strangely. Before Madara could ask him what he problem was, Tobirama had already turned away and opened his own door, getting out himself.

Madara slowly made his way to the other side of the truck. When he got there, he saw that Tobirama’s gaze was set unblinkingly on the building; his eyes were narrowed suspiciously toward the front wall. His mouth was set in a firm frown, the corners of his lips jutting downward. His eyebrows were drawn together, creating one or two wrinkles in the middle of this forehead. Madara didn’t say a word as he silently followed his gaze and observed the building himself. He figured that Tobirama would say what was on his mind eventually.

He didn’t have to wait long at all before his prediction came true. “This place looks sketchy,” Tobirama observed. His voice was quiet, as though he was afraid that speaking any louder would cause something to jump out and attack them. “I don’t like this.”

“It’s fine,” Madara waved off his words nonchalantly. “Nothing’s wrong here.”

“You know how I’ve managed to stay alive out here for ten years?” Tobirama questioned. His voice was fairly neutral, but Madara could hear the faint clipped ending to each word, sensing the challenge that was laced between the syllables.

“How?” Madara inquired wearily, figuring that he knew where this entire conversation was going. He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He had way better things to do than to be lectured by this idiot on how to survive. Madara was willing to bet that his group was the only reason that he’d made it ten years without any true protection.

“I’m still alive because I refused to go into places that give me bad feelings,” Tobirama replied. “This is the kind of things that get idiots killed out here.” He looked back and forth between Madara and the building. “This isn’t a good idea; I can feel it.”

“You’re delusional,” Madara informed him. “This entire neighborhood was checked out like two weeks ago. Everything’s fine.” He raised an eyebrow at the younger man as he crossed his arms superiorly over his chest. “What’s wrong, Senju. Are you scared?”

Tobirama gave him a thoroughly unimpressed look and rolled his eyes before he turned back around and looked back at the store. He finally replied to Madara’s taunt a few heartbeats later. “I’m not scared, Uchiha. I’m just not stupid, and there’s no way to play on my pride about it. Something feels off about this place. Two weeks is a long time for something to sit unmonitored. Any number of things could have happened since it was scouted.”

Madara sighed impatiently and took a step toward the building, as if to make a point. The first bit of shattered glass crunched underneath his boots. It was an unpleasant sensation and noise, but he ignored it. He spun on his heel to look at Tobirama. The younger man was staring at him again, and his expression was unwavering. It was clear that nothing was going to get done unless Madara was somehow able to convince him that there was no danger waiting for them at all. He wracked his brain in an attempt to find something to reassure him with.

 “What is it that you don’t like?” Madara finally questioned. “You have to at least have an idea of what’s making you uneasy.”

Tobirama was silent for a moment. His head was tilted slightly to the side, reminding Madara of a confused cat. He had to stop himself from smiling at the expression. It was oddly charming, something that Madara didn’t want to admit, even to himself. He supposed that the most insufferable bastards had to have some sort of redeemable quality, even if it was something as shallow as a cute look.

“It’s too quiet,” he said after a few moments. “Something’s scared away all of the wildlife.”

Madara frowned at this as he realized that Tobirama was right. Everything was totally silent, save from the rustling of the leaves of the trees from the wind. There were no birds chirping, and Madara didn’t hear any skittering from the claws of small animals running around on broken asphalt either. It was pretty strange, and the unnaturalness of it left an uneasy pressure in his gut. He hated that Tobirama’s paranoia was beginning to rub off on him. He couldn’t get jumpy when they had such an important job to do.

_Think logically,_ Madara told himself. _Nothing’s around here. He’s just crazy. You’re not crazy. Act like you have some sense and think logically!_ At that, he felt muscles that he hadn’t realized were starting to tense up slowly relax. He managed to roll his eyes at Tobirama’s reasoning, despite the solidity of the statement.

“I’m sure that it’s just a few Infected in the area. It’s not like we can’t take care of that ourselves,” Madara replied lightly. “Honestly, it’s not anything for you to worry yourself over.”

“The Infected don’t bother the wildlife,” Tobirama informed him impatiently. “They have no interest in them at all. Something is _wrong,_ Madara, and we need to get out of here before we figure out what it is.”

“We’re here on a mission,” Madara reminded him. “We can’t just leave because you don’t feel right about it. Suck it up and do what you were assigned to do.” He couldn’t believe the man’s reluctance. Madara hadn’t exactly vouched for him to Sarutobi, but he did say that Tobirama would make a good scavenger. He was starting to reconsider that observation. The man was acting as little more than a coward, and Madara couldn’t believe it. Sure, he hadn’t liked Tobirama, but he hadn’t expected him to act quite like this. It was ridiculous and shameful.

Tobirama glared at him, but he eventually sighed and nodded. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s get on with it, then.”

Madara took another weary scan around the yard for anything that could be wrong. Tobirama’s reluctance was still making him weary, even with him trying his best to be logical. Tobirama had made a good point about the infected not bothering with the wild life. He bit back the feeling, clamping down on it as soon as he felt anxiety starting to squirm in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t a coward, and he wasn’t about to start acting like one. Tobirama gestured for him to go ahead. The younger man’s face quite clearly said that he was all too happy to let him walk into danger first. Madara couldn’t help but grudgingly respect his blatant will to survive. It might not have been commendable, but it certainly was admirable.

He just sighed as he walked in front of Tobirama, onto the sidewalk that led to the front door of the hardware store. The shadows were too thick to see through, so Madara brought his flashlight out and clicked it on, shining it into the store. His eyes moved back and forth quickly, searching for something that might be out of place. His heart was starting to beat quickly as he looked.

Nothing seemed to be amiss as far as he could tell. Sure, there were numerous tools, pieces of wood, glass, and metal scattered all over the floor, but that was to be expected. It was quite a surprise to see that all of the aisles were still standing and seemed to be in pretty good condition. A thick layer of dust coated every surface, including the old checkout lines and the large, steel beams that jutted out from the walls.

He took a step inside and continued to look for anything that could be out of place. No noise filtered in his ears. The air was perfectly still, and the only sound that he could hear was his own breathing. It was probably more unsettling than anything else.

He turned and looked at Tobirama, who had just stepped inside behind him. The other man had his own light out and was using it to look around, quickly moving the light, as if weary to let it sit in one place for too long. Despite the stillness, he seemed to be uneasy. His entire body was tensed, as if he was prepared to spring into action, either to run away or to fight. Madara supposed that relying on one’s instincts constantly would be one hell of a habit to break, especially if it was the thing that kept the person alive for so long.

He felt the sudden and stupid urge to comfort the other man and assure him that everything was going to be alright. He quickly swallowed back the comment and turned back around to face forward. Tobirama could be paranoid for the both of them, Madara, on the other hand, knew that if he kept this up, he’d never get what they were there for. They needed metal, preferably chain-linked fencing, power tools, and a lot of screws. Sarutobi wanted to not only fix the weak points in the existing fencing, but he wanted to reinforce the rest of it, and hopefully expand their colony to an even larger scale. It was a great plan, but it was going to take a while and a lot of hard work from nearly everyone in the town.

He pushed that thought into the back of his mind and only visualized the supplies that he was going to need. He needed to focus, because none of those plans would be able to smoothly succeed if they didn’t make it back with the goods.

“Come on, Senju,” Madara muttered to Tobirama. “I think that they said that the fencing was in the back of the store.”

Tobirama took a step up and stood next to him. His face was completely impassive as he turned and looked at Madara, nodding curtly to him before turning back around and looked straight toward the back of the store. It was so dark inside that it was impossible to see the back wall, making the trip seem a bit more perilous.

“We’re not alone in here,” Tobirama said so quietly that Madara almost didn’t hear him. “Watch your back.”

Madara found himself nodding in acceptance at this with a surprising ease. He turned back around and slowly began walking into the dusty room, cutting his eyes and flashlight into the dark abyss of the shadows that were submerged in the room. It really was a sketchy place with an alarming number of places for anything to hide. Most of all, it really wasn’t a good time for them to be there. They really should have waited for a sunny day. He hated the thought of admitting that Tobirama might have been right, but he was starting to think that it might have been a wiser choice to wait and come back.

_Too late now,_ Madara thought to himself. _You put yourself into this situation by being an asshole. Deal with it._ He really didn’t mean to be such a prick, but it was just who he was, and Tobirama seemed to bring it out in him better than anyone that he’d ever met. He cut his eyes toward Tobirama for a moment before looking straight ahead and they slowly walked to the back of the store.

Nothing jumped out at them as they passed by numerous aisles that contained dusty homewares, from busted lightbulbs to trashed ceiling fans. The backwall came up surprisingly fast. Madara didn’t know if it was because it was nearly impossible to see it, or if the store wasn’t as large as it seemed. It was a crumbling structure. A few cement blocks were missing from the walls, letting in a few beams of dim light. It was still pretty dark, but it wasn’t as bad as what Madara had though it was originally. His eyes strained slightly, but his sight was very strong, and he was able to make out pieces of metal pipes and lines of chain links ready to become sturdy barriers.

“Alright,” Madara said. “Let’s get this out into the truck.” He wanted to hurry and get this over with before the weather got any worse than an overcast. There was also the fact that Tobirama mentioned something about them not being alone. It was probably just paranoia that had gotten him through years of survival outside of the walls, but Madara didn’t want to find out if he was wrong or not.

He grabbed three or four pipes and saw Tobirama grab a few more as well. He grimaced, knowing that it was going to take only two people a long time to get everything ready. He was going to be there a lot longer than he wanted to be. He let out a low sigh of resignation as he and Tobirama walked back toward the front. Once the shadows weren’t nearly suffocating them, and Madara was able to clearly see Tobirama’s face, he saw that the other man looked completely at ease, almost serene. Had he been bluffing about the intruders? Was he bluffing his current attitude? This entire thing was nerve-wracking because he didn’t know how to read Tobirama. He knew that he was doing this so that he could get a feel for him, but this wasn’t exactly the right time for this, not with a potential intruder in a dark building.

 

Madara’s nerves were on edge for well over half an hour, which was how long it took to get the truck fully packed with everything that they needed to patch up the fence and to start expanding even further out. He sighed in relief as they grabbed the last bit of chain-link from the back of the room. It was the largest piece, and it took both of them to haul it. Madara felt himself beginning to break a sweat despite the cold weather and wondered if he was starting to get out of shape. That would never do.

“This is it,” Madara sighed, as if for confirmation as they neared the entrance. “We can go back now.”

“Shut up,” Tobirama’s sharp voice hit his ears a moment later. Madara froze at his tone. He bristled for a moment before he remembered what Tobirama had murmured to him when they had first gotten there. His stomach twisted into knots as his heart sank with dread. He sighed, almost in defeat, as he slowly lowered the chain-link to the floor. He felt Tobirama lowering his side as well and knew that something really was very wrong. He slowly turned around to look at the white-haired male and saw that his red eyes were quickly darting back and forth, searching for something.

“You sure are paranoid,” a loud, airy voice called out, sounding so unworried that it pissed Madara off. How dare someone sound as though they weren’t even worth anxiety?! He scowled, immediately forgetting his dread as he turned toward the noise, his hands clenched into fists.

A figure walked out of the shadows on the eastern side of the store. Madara paused for a moment, considering. Was it male or female? The person certainly was beautiful with long, blond hair and large, blue eyes, but the face was decidedly angular, and the person that spoke from the shadows was definitely masculine. Madara looked down and realized that it was most likely a male. Their entire torso was flat. They were wearing a faded, black t-shirt with a large, swirling, red cloud on the front of it.

“Can’t say that I blame you. There are some pretty bad people out there,” the person sighed again. It was the same voice that had spoken from the shadows, confirming that it really was a male.

“You trying to say that you’re not one of them?” Madara challenged, grabbing the hilt of the knife that was sitting on his hip. His movement was slow and steady, making it blaringly obvious what he was going after, and he never took his eyes off the intruder. The pretty man watched him without a care in the world. It was as though he didn’t consider them a threat in the least.

BOOM!

Madara had to fight back the urge to jump as a loud clap of thunder echoed through the otherwise still air. Tobirama seemed totally unaffected by the noise while the blond looked almost elated. “Don’t be foolish,” the stranger told him, putting a hand on his hip. “Did I ever say that I wasn’t a bad guy? Of course, I don’t have to be a bad guy. You guys were so kind to me, loading up that truck with all of those supplies. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen anything so thoughtful.”

“Those supplies aren’t going—”

Something warm and heavy slammed over his mouth. It took him a moment of muffled words to notice something was wrong and then another heartbeat for him to realize that it was Tobirama’s hand that was blocking off his sentence. “Shut the hell up,” Tobirama snapped at him. “We don’t know anything about this situation, and the last thing that we need to be doing is talking trash.”

“Ooh,” the blond practically purred in delight. “You’re _smart_! I’ve always had a soft-spot for smart men. I’m guessing that you’ve had no problems these past few years. Why haven’t you dumped that hotheaded idiot somewhere on the side of the road yet?”

Tobirama turned and looked at Madara for a moment, and the look that he received made it painfully clear that there was nothing that Tobirama would like to do more. The younger man turned back toward the stranger and said, “He’s a comrade. I’d never abandon him. You’re still alive, and you’re calm to the point of arrogance. You wouldn’t be on your own against two unknown enemies. How many more of you are there?”

“Why would I tell you that?” the man questioned him almost airily. It made Madara want to lash out and smack the hell out of them repeatedly. That lackadaisical attitude grinded on his nerves and he had to focus a lot more than he really should have to keep a neutral expression on his face. If Tobirama could remain calm, even with the freak hitting on him, then Madara could do it too, dammit!

“I don’t know,” Tobirama said. “I figured that it didn’t really matter. Honestly, I doubt that you have any intention on letting us leave out of here alive, so what does it matter if we know how many people are going to try and kill us before we die?”

“You know,” the blond said with a small frown. “Most people speak about their impending demise with more…emotion of any kind, really. Are you sure that you’re alright upstairs? You might need to get that shit checked out.”

“By who, dumbass?” Madara snapped at him impatiently. “Do you know any psychiatrists that are still in practice these days? If you do, then by all means, refer him to one! He’s speaking about his death the way that he is because it’s not going to happen. Why don’t you scram and quit trying to delay us before I carve out a couple of extra holes in your body so that shit doesn’t just have to fly out of your mouth.”

The blond’s eyes widened almost comically at this, and Madara had to give himself a mental pat on the back for coming up with a counter that smart that quickly. Even Tobirama managed a half grin at that before he sighed, as if in resignation, and took a step backward.

He saw the man’s red eyes darting everywhere at once out of the corner of his own, much darker set of eyes. Madara didn’t have to ask what was going on inside of the other man’s head. He was trying to see if he could locate any other potential threats and probably calculate the possibility of them slipping into the shadows and making a run for it if the prospects got too bad.

Madara was certain that the situation was going to get infinitely worse, thanks to his big mouth, but silence settled down between the three of them for a few heartbeats before the stranger chuckled…well it started off as a chuckle before it escalated into a full-blown laugh. The noise got louder and louder, and as the volume rose, so did the level of craziness with it. There was something seriously wrong with this man, and Madara only knew that he didn’t want to be around to find out what it was.

It took a few moments, but his laughter died down, and between chuckles, he wiped at one of his eyes and said, “Oh, you’re both going to die, but I find it quite humorous that you have so much confidence in you and your companion.” His smile turned razor sharp as he bared all of his teeth. “I just love it when I get to watch people’s arrogance slap them in the face and then their expression when all hope leaves their eyes. I hope you’re both prepared to die, because I’m about to make your deaths a true masterpiece!”

 

The small patch of forest in the park was peaceful. It was secluded, and none of the children ever came back this far, mostly because their parents got paranoid when they lost sight of the small brats for over a few seconds. The day was crappy, with a large overcast that looked as though it was about to break at any second. He was certain that he was going to get soaked very soon, but that was fine. It wasn’t as though he had a mom to scold him for it. He frowned, wondering where that bitter thought had come from.

It was probably the weather. The original outbreak of the virus had started on a day with weather almost exactly the same. He thought that it was almost cliché, the perfect backdrop for a horror movie, except this was no fictional story. It was just a bizarre event that happened in real life.

He heard the sound of a twig breaking and brought himself out of his own head and back to the present. He looked around the microscopic clearing that he was sitting in quickly. There wasn’t really much around him. Dying grass, and trees with dying leaves. The small amount of sunlight that shined though the clouds sent miniscule shadows across the forest floor, barely noticeable compared to the already dimly lit ground. He could just barely make out a silhouette of a person walking toward him. He recognized it almost immediately and felt his dark mood lighten considerably. Iruka had always had a knack for knocking his teenage angst out of his mind.

“What are you doing all the way out here, brooding by yourself?” Iruka questioned as he entered the clearing. There was a twig sticking out his hair distractingly. It was almost comical to look at as Kakashi thought about the regal way that the boy always held himself.

“I’m not brooding,” Kakashi informed him, straightening up. “Just because I’m sitting by myself doesn’t mean that I’m upset.”

“For anyone other than you, that might be the case,” Iruka informed him. “I know you better than that, Hatake.”

“I think it’s the weather,” Kakashi admitted, not really feeling the need to play stupid. Iruka really did know him too well. “It’s pretty close to what it was like when everything started…I guess I was just thinking about that day.”

“It was a very bad day,” Iruka said. His voice had become sorrowful and Kakashi saw that his face was trained toward the ground. “I’m sorry that you can’t get your mind off it.” He walked closer and only stopped when he was standing next to Kakashi. Without waiting for an invitation, he plopped down so that they were sitting side-by-side against the large tree. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Kakashi wanted to snap at the younger boy that he wasn’t some child that needed to be coddled, and that there was no need to patronize him, but he held his tongue as he looked at the other. Iruka was staring at him with genuine concern. His dark eyes were even dimmer with empathetic sadness, and Kakashi felt guilty for even thinking about snapping at the younger man.

“We can, I guess,” Kakashi finally said. It actually didn’t seem like that much of a bad idea if he was being honest. Maybe speaking about the attack might be the best way for him to clear his head. He’d never spoken to anyone else about it, not even his father. He trusted Iruka more than he trusted anyone else, however. Iruka was the one person that he would trust with all of his secrets. “What do you want to know?”

Iruka was silent for a few heartbeats. Kakashi had looked away from the younger before he had started speaking. He didn’t need to be looking at Iruka to feel the weight of his stare on the side of his face. It was intense and nearly uncomfortable with the way that it made his chest feel a bit lighter. His throat felt thick and clogged and he felt the beginning of tremors in his hands.

“What do you want to talk about?” Iruka asked him finally. “I’m curious; I’m not going to lie, but I’m more worried about you than anything else. Talk about what you want to.”

“Did I ever tell you what happened to me ten years ago?” Kakashi questioned quietly, ignoring the rumble of the dark clouds overhead. He figured that he hadn’t, but he was almost certain that he had not, because he knew that Iruka had never returned the favor. Some people were fairly open about what happened to them before they had passed through the gates to the small sanctuary, but a lot of people weren’t. It was fairly hard to speak about the traumatic events that happened. Everyone had lost a family member or a loved one to the plague, but some people lost a lot more than others.

“No,” Iruka replied. “You haven’t. I’d love to hear about it, but don’t talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Kakashi just shook his head. He knew that he didn’t have to talk about it if he didn’t want to. A part of him really didn’t want to talk about it, but there was another part of him that did want to. He wanted to let Iruka know more about him, even if there really wasn’t much to tell. Kakashi didn’t trust very many people, and for very good reasons, but he _wanted_ to trust Iruka. That was probably foolish and insane, but he couldn’t help it. Iruka was just that kind of person: no one was able to hate him.

“I was only six when everything happened,” Kakashi said. “I…I honestly didn’t know what was going on. My father told me to pack up a few of my things and to wait in the master bedroom with my mother for a few minutes. At that point, I’d stupidly thought that we were going on some sort of surprise trip and was really excited.” He was silent for a few breaths, just thinking back to the tranquility of those last few moments of total normalcy. He could go back in time and slap his younger self for not picking up on the strange and edgy way that his parents were acting. He hated that they had been trying their best to be strong for his sake.

Iruka was silent beside him, but Kakashi saw that the younger was staring in his direction out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t focus hard enough to see the expression on his face. It probably was one of sympathy, and it was something that Kakashi didn’t want, especially from someone that had been orphaned from the events of the outbreak.

“I remember asking my mother where we were going,” Kakashi said. “She looked like she was trying her best not to cry, but I just thought that she was excited for the trip too. Then there was a lot of banging around the kitchen. I heard shouts and yelling. I felt really scared, and I heard my mother sniffle. She was crying when I looked back up at her. She told me to hide in the closet and that she was going to be right back with dad.” He grimaced as a sensation of sadness tugged on his stomach at the memory of his mother. “I remember telling her that I was scared. She hugged me tightly and told me that she loved me and that everything was going to be alright. All I had to do was what I was told, and it would be over soon. So, I hid like she told me. It was the last time that I ever saw her.”

It was the reason why he wanted to fight for the town that he was living in now. He wasn’t going to be a useless kid again. This world had no place for them, and someone always paid the price to keep them alive. He wasn’t going to let someone else die for him again.

He slowly turned and looked at Iruka. His dark eyes were sad, but there was no pity in them. His eyes were a bit wider than before in a sign of sudden understanding. He felt something warm and firm wrapped around his thin hand. When he looked down, he saw that Iruka had grasped Kakashi’s fingers with his own larger ones. “That wasn’t your fault,” he said pointedly. “You were six, and you didn’t understand what was going on. Your parents did their job. You’re supposed to protect the people that you love, and parents are definitely not an exception. You can’t blame yourself for them loving you enough to do that.” Iruka’s eyes lowered for a moment and his voice came out as awkward and almost uncomfortable. “There are still people around that would do the same thing for you without hesitation.”

Kakashi brought his own hand up and pressed it against Iruka’s forehead. A protective kind of concern ran through him as he wondered whether Iruka was sick or not. He saw Iruka’s eyes widen even more and his face became considerably redder. “Are you feeling alright?” Kakashi inquired worriedly. “You’re not getting sick, are you?”

He heard Iruka heave out a low sigh before the younger shook his head. “No, I’m fine…it’s probably just the weather.”

“Well, then come on,” Kakashi said as he pushed himself to his feet. “Let’s get back to some shelter. The last thing that I need is for you to get sick.” He reached out and offered Iruka his hand. The younger took it and allowed Kakashi to pull him up.

“I’m not going to get sick,” Iruka muttered with a frown, but Kakashi saw that it had no heat to it. He had a feeling that Iruka probably liked that Kakashi watched out for him so much.

Kakashi felt bad sometimes. Iruka didn’t have anyone to look after him, not really. There was no one in the community that looked at Iruka like he was their child. Sarutobi was probably the closest to a parental figure that he was ever going to get again, but the old man was too busy to pay Iruka much attention. At least Kakashi had his father to look after him. Sakumo Hatake was a very important member in the village, but he always made time for Kakashi if his son truly needed it. He wanted to be able to give that care to Iruka. Of course, not parental care, but he wanted Iruka to feel as though there was someone in the community that truly held his best interests in their heart.

“Are you sure that you’re feeling alright?” Iruka asked him. “You’re staring at me strangely.”

Kakashi cursed his absentmindedness and schooled his features into a composed mask before giving Iruka a half-smile. “I’m fine,” he replied. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just a bit distracted is all.”

The first drop of rain fell from the sky a moment later, landing on his cheek. He sighed and took a step forward, grabbing Iruka’s wrist and tugging him so that he was facing the path out of the trees. “Come on. Let’s go."


	7. Chapter 7

Tobirama was fairly certain that the situation that they had gotten themselves into wasn’t going to be a fun one to get out of. The warehouse was a large one that was covered in shadows. Sure, that meant that there were a lot of places for them to hide, but it also meant that there were a lot of places for other people to be hiding in as well. The aisles seemed more threatening than anything else as he looked around the store, desperately searching for more enemies in the darkness. The blond wasn’t alone, that much Tobirama was certain of. He and his pals probably had a better lay out of the store than either he or Madara, both of whom hadn’t been inside before. That put them at a major disadvantage.

His head spun as he thought quickly for any kind of option that they might have. Surrendering obviously wasn’t one. It was the only thing that Tobirama was certain that he and Madara had in common. The other man’s pride was just as strong as his own, and neither of them were going to go down without one hell of a fight. Tobirama didn’t intend on this being their last battle, though. He would make sure that they got out of this in one piece, if only so that he could bitch at Madara about keeping his damned mouth shut when the situation called for it.

His eyes flickered to Madara and remembered that the idiot only had a knife on him. The baseball bat that Madara had carried with him the first time that they had met wasn’t on his person, and Tobirama didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. It was a large, obvious weapon, but it had one hell of a reach on it, which might have been nice at a time like this. He only had a knife on himself too, and it certainly wasn’t enough to get them out of a situation like this, especially when there were so many unknown factors to it.

He bit on his lower lip agitatedly as he watched the blond smile at them superiorly, his blue eyes alight with an insane type of glee that let Tobirama know that regardless of what happened, standing around and waiting for events to turn out wasn’t an option in the least. He hated reckless strategies, but he didn’t have a choice if he wanted them to live. He might not have cared too much about what happened to Madara normally, but he was on a trip with the Uchiha, and there was no way that he was going to let his comrade die. Like Madara had said, he didn’t have to like him to watch his back on this trip.

“I’d say that we’re in quite the predicament right now,” Tobirama said, keeping his voice steady as he took a small step sideways, narrowing the gap between him and the dark-haired man.

Madara’s head turned sharply toward him. Tobirama might not have been able to see him in great detail, but there was enough light to see the other man’s dark eyes narrow in obvious irritation. It was nice to know that Tobirama was able to annoy him, even in such dire situations. By this time, however, Madara was within arm’s reach, and it didn’t matter what the other thought. He grabbed Madara’s wrist and snatched him to the side, turning at the same time and dashing to the left side of the store with the other in tow. His objective had to been to move quickly. Even one second of a head start on the blond was better than nothing at all.

“What the he—” Madara cut himself off as Tobirama turned and looked at him angrily. The idiot needed to save his breath for what was going to happen next. As soon as Madara began to match pace with him and Tobirama wasn’t guiding him, he let go of his wrist and slowed down as he turned a corner around an aisle.

Tobirama wanted to just take the most direct route to the exit, but that seemed like a very stupid idea. Whoever was in that store had seen the direction that they had gone in before they had disappeared into the shadows and were probably waiting for them to try and barrel through the front and try and fight their way out head-on. As much as Tobirama enjoyed the occasional sparring match, he didn’t feel like fighting for his life over something that could be avoided.

He skidded to a stop behind one of the aisles and inhaled a deep breath, trying to get his oxygen intake under control. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears due to adrenaline, something that he needed to clamp down on, or he wasn’t going to be able to think of a way out of this. Madara had skidded to a stop and was looking at him demandingly. Tobirama just glared back, hopefully giving him a strong enough _shut the fuck up_ message for him to actually heed it.

It was a pleasant surprise that Madara did stay silent. He supposed that it really wasn’t. Madara wasn’t an imbecile, just a prick with a large mouth. He probably knew the severity of the situation just as much as Tobirama did. He had to fight back the childish urge to say, _‘I told you so,’_ and stick his tongue out at the other man since it really was all Madara’s fault that they were in this damnable situation in the first place.

He just shook that entire thought-process off. It was irrelevant at the moment. He wanted to be alive long enough to properly torment Madara about all of this. He had to think of a way out of this if he was going to be able to ensure that Madara would also be alive long enough to know that he was never going to be able to live down this specific error in judgement.

_Back door_! Tobirama thought, his eyes widening in realization. He immediately felt like a complete idiot for not thinking about it before. A building of this size would definitely have more than one exit, if only for fire protocol. They wouldn’t be as large and would probably be on the sides and at the back of the store where the employees would have a small place to spend their breaks.

The only key was finding one of those rooms without being found. Tobirama grabbed Madara’s wrist again and pulled him away from the front and slunk them farther into the shadows that consumed the back of the store. He felt a sharp tug on his arm and Tobirama skidded to a stop when he felt as though he was about to be wrenched backward and bash his head on the floor. He let go of Madara’s wrist and spun around.

The other man was looking at him angrily, his arms crossed over his chest. Tobirama sighed and took a step toward him. Madara immediately stepped backward, his dark eyes widening. Tobirama reached out and put a calming hand on his shoulder as he took a step forward. Madara stiffened underneath his fingertips, and Tobirama could sense the urge for him to bolt. Thankfully, Tobirama was much faster than him. He moved so that his lips were just next to his ear.

“Calm down,” Tobirama murmured. They really didn’t have time for Madara to freak out. “We need to find a way out. Back door is a better idea. Hopefully, there won’t be anyone guarding it, and we can get away that way.”

“How sweet!” a voice cooed. Tobirama stiffened and slowly pulled away from Madara’s personal space and turned around to see a guy…or at least Tobirama figured that it was a man. The figure had a swirling orange mask on with one long hole just off of the center of the mask, probably where the man’s right eye was. He had on the same t-shirt as the blond had. He could see short, black hair spiking over the top of the mask.He

“Do you want a few more moments to kiss each other goodbye?” the masked man asked them. Tobirama slowly looked up at the man, his eyebrows raised at the comment. The man giggled and put his hands up in front of him. “I’m serious, I’m willing to give you some time! I have to kill you both, so I figured that it was only right that I give you the option.”

“Is this jackass serious?” Madara demanded.

“I’m afraid so,” Tobirama muttered, sighing. Why was is that he always came across the idiots? He was silent for a few moments, waiting for Madara to blow up the way that he had before.

“Thank you for being so considerate of us,” Madara said after a moment instead, sounding genuinely thankful. He grabbed Tobirama by the front of the shirt and hauled him closer. Tobirama’s breath hitched in the back of his throat, and his eyes widened as Madara’s face kept getting closer and closer to his. He was frozen as panic consumed him. Why wasn’t he moving back? Why hadn’t he pushed Madara away?

Just before Madara’s lips connected with his, Tobirama felt him move away and turn sharply to the side, he heard the sound of something metal clanging against metal. There was a loud yelp and Tobirama stumbled sideways, crashing into the aisle.

The noise and the jarring sensation brought Tobirama out of his shock. He and Madara both took off toward the back of the store as fast as their situation allowed. It was difficult to maintain speed and keep themselves quiet enough to hopefully stop attracting attention.

It was really hard to see. Tobirama’s eyesight wasn’t immaculate, but it wasn’t horrible either. Madara was moving with much more surety than Tobirama was able to. The other man had reached out and grabbed his wrist and was dragging him backward. Tobirama wanted to wrench his arm away, but he fought against the impulse. He knew that his life hinged on him cooperating with Madara, and he wasn’t about to jeopardize his wellbeing for anything.

He felt his arm being wrenched roughly to the left and he skidded to the side before he began rushing with Madara willingly again. He crashed into him a moment later. The other had come to a stop abruptly and Tobirama hadn’t gotten the memo until it was much too late. Madara lurched forward, and Tobirama heard a hollow thunk, and a low groan. He immediately took a step backward and he felt Madara’s hand slide off his arm. He could see the man’s silhouette as he pushed himself away from the door that he’d unceremoniously crashed into.

“Watch where you’re going,” Madara hissed at him, sounding more than just a little angry. Tobirama probably would have found it humorous if it wasn’t for the serious situation.

“Easier said than done,” Tobirama growled. He had a sneaking suspicion that he’d need glasses if it wasn’t for the way that the world was. It was impossible to come by any that he could use nowadays, which really sucked. “I can’t see anything! How about you give someone a warning next time!”

“Whatever,” Madara snarled. He reached forward and grabbed the door’s handle and wrenched it open. It wasn’t locked, which wasn’t all that surprising. He figured that it probably wasn’t the employees’ top priority when they began running away from the infected. God knows that Tobirama wouldn’t have been worried about it in the least either.

As soon as the door was open, Tobirama felt his stomach churn. He heard Madara gag in front of him and he immediately brought his hand up to his nose and mouth, pressing firmly against them for a few moments as he willed his stomach to settle again. The unmistakable smell of decay had hit him harder than Madara had hit the door moments before. It probably wouldn’t be long before the smell had permeated through the entire store. That would definitely be one way to give away their location.

Without even considering the consequences, Tobirama shoved Madara forward, and they both tumbled into the darkness. Tobirama made sure to turn around and close the door behind him as quietly as he could.

The only thing that Tobirama was grateful for in that moment was that he hadn’t eaten yet that day. His stomach was practically inside out with how much it was churning around and around. The stench was so powerful, and he gagged as he stumbled fully inside. His eyesight had totally abandoned in him the thick blanket of darkness, and the rest of his senses had stretched out as his body automatically tried to get a good grasp on where he was. It was impossible however, with the smell overpowering the rest of his senses.

“That’s awful,” Madara groaned quietly from somewhere nearby.

“I know,” Tobirama muttered. For some reason, just hearing Madara’ voice grounded him a little more. It allowed him to focus on something other than the smell. “We need to find the door, if there’s a door in here at all.”

“There is,” Madara replied. “There was a broken exit sign dangling next to the doorway.”

Tobirama shook his head in disbelief. Madara’s eyesight was remarkable to say the least. “Alright, then” he said. “Let’s find the wall and go from there.”

Madara didn’t say anything, much to Tobirama’s dismay. He didn’t hear anything at all for a moment, but then he heard the soft sounds of footsteps somewhere directly in front of him. He imagined that Madara was turning around and began walking in the opposite direction. Tobirama just walked forward, following the sound of Madara’s footsteps, toward the wall. He found the structure a few moments later. It was a freezing brick wall, but he felt something warm and soft against it as well.

“Senju,” Madara said tightly. “Please tell me that it’s your hand on mine.”

It was a strange question for Madara to ask, but Tobirama understood why. He immediately removed his appendage from the warmth and awkwardly shuffled a step to his left. “Sorry,” he muttered. He felt blood rush to his cheeks and was suddenly glad that the room was as dark as it was. For some reason, he didn’t want Madara to see that the contact had embarrassed him.

“Whatever,” Madara said, his voice curt and cold. “Just...focus on finding the door.”

Tobirama didn’t say a word as he started moving further to the left. He heard Madara’s footsteps fading a bit, letting him know that he was moving in the opposite direction. He pushed the idiot out of his mind as he stepped to the side in small steps, brushing his hands along the wall, waiting for the moment that it gave away from the uniform bumpy brick that was roughly rubbing against his palms.

The smell hadn’t gotten any better, but his stomach was no longer churning in an attempt to bring up something that wasn’t there. He had either gotten used to it, or the task at hand had taken over the majority of his concentration. He supposed that the reason didn’t actually matter. He quickly pushed that train of thought out of his head as well. Concentration on the unpleasant stench was causing him to feel queasy again, something that he couldn’t afford in the given situation.

The silence stretched on for maybe a minute, and Tobirama was beginning to wonder exactly how large the entire room was. Nervousness was starting to settle in the pit of his already nauseated gut. If they didn’t hurry up and find a way out, the psychos that were after them would definitely find them. He wanted to bring out his flashlight and check, but there were blaringly obvious reasons why that was a horrible idea. There was bound to be a crack underneath the door at the very least. There was a good chance that there was a small window about head height on it as well. It would only take a second of light, and in the darkness of the store, it would home in like a beacon, beckoning whoever was nearby to come over and discover them.

While his mind wandered, his left shoulder crashed into something firm. He jumped, startled from the unexpected contact. He was about to take a step back and figure out what the hell he’d just hit when there was a deep thud on the ground followed by a distressed noise. It sounded muffled, as though Madara was trying his best to stifle the sound. Tobirama immediately turned around and rushed toward the noise. He might not have liked Madara personally, but there were certain things that he wouldn’t compromise on, and the wellbeing of the person that had trusted him with their safety is one of them. That type of betrayal was the worst, and it was something that Tobirama would never put someone through.

He heard the sound of scrambling and it was coming very close to his right. He leaned down for a moment and waved his hands around, trying to feel for something that he couldn’t see at all. His hand brushed against something cold and slimy and he immediately retracted it, fighting the urge to vomit. He quickly took a step to his left and hesitantly reached out again, getting closer and closer to the shuffling noise. After a moment, he brushed against something once again. Instead of being cold, it was warm and immediately jumped when he made contact.

“Is that you?” Tobirama whispered.

“Who else would it be?” Madara’s angry voice snapped. Even quiet, he was able to portray enough disdain for Tobirama to automatically tense with the urge to lash back out at him. Honestly, it was a talent all on its own. “Why are you over here? You should be finding the door!”

“I figured that you might need some help,” Tobirama said evenly. He didn’t like the tone that Madara was using, and he liked the fact that he was judging Tobirama’s actions, when he was the imbecile that had tripped over the decaying body in the first place, even less. “Don’t worry. I won’t make that mistake again.”

He heard the sound of scrambling again, and Tobirama heard Madara’s voice from higher up. Tobirama straightened at the noise and looked forward into the darkness where he figured that the older man was standing. “I don’t want your help,” Madara snapped at him. “Get your head out of your ass and start looking for the door.”

Tobirama shut his eyes for a moment, though it made no difference at all in the pitch blackness that was all around him. _Life or death situation,_ he coached himself. _It’s a life or death situation. You can’t freak out on him right now. You’re going to have to wait until it’s safer. When we get out of this, I’m going to kill him…verbally at first, and then physically._ With that promise to himself solidified in his head he exhaled quietly and just turned around and began to search for the wall again, ignoring Madara completely.

Never again. He didn’t care if he was kicked out of the colony for refusing to comply with their customs. He wouldn’t work with Madara again. They were too incompatible, and there was no way that Tobirama was going to be able to promise anyone that he wouldn’t kill him while they were out if he were forced to work with him another time.

His hands found purchase on the wall again, and he moved to the right this time around, not caring if he bumped into Madara or not. The left was a dead end, which meant that the door was surely to the right. He quickly shuffled sideways, allowing his fingers to brush across the wall as he went, concentrating on the feel of the rough brick underneath his skin. He thought of anything that would help him forget about the jerk that he’d been paired up with.

Just when he was about to curse at Madara, who he hadn't heard from since he'd walked away from him, he faltered as the texture of the wall changed from a rough brick to a cool, smooth metal sensation. He had started to worry that Madara had been seeing things that he had been hoping for as they were racing toward the door in a blind panic. He felt a bit of his anxiety peter off as he quickly started feeling around for the knob. It was one of the bars that one pushed on for entry, and it was just above his waist. He sighed in relief.

“I found it,” Tobirama said quietly, knowing that his voice would carry far enough in the stifling silence. He heard rapid footsteps a moment later, and they were quickly getting closer to him. In another heartbeat, Madara was at his side and basically whispering in his ear.

“Let’s get the hell out of here, then.”

Tobirama immediately jerked away from him out of reflex alone. He shook that feeling off and moved back. Madara made no comment as he finally pushed the door open. Thankfully it was unlocked and pushed forward without any problem. There was a low creak, but nothing too loud. Tobirama fought the urge to breath in too deeply at the sight of fresh air. He knew that the putrid air that was surrounding him hadn't gone away that quickly.

He and Madara didn't hesitate before they both rushed outside. He didn't know if he was gladder to be away from that room because of the consuming darkness inside or if it was the nauseating scent of the dead body. He supposed that it didn’t matter as long as he was out. He had more important things to worry about, such as the fact that there was no way that the group inside the store was just going to be dumb enough to stay in and not look around for them there.

There was a good chance that they might just be apathetic and leave them alone as long as they just left the truck and went on their own way. Tobirama knew that was out of the question, however. Tobirama’s pride wouldn’t allow it, and he knew that hell would freeze over before he let them get away. They needed to find a place to rest for a moment and come up with a plan of some sort, however. Rushing in head first would only get them killed. Madara struck him as an idiot that does things without thinking anything at all through. That was the reason that they were in this predicament in the first place. He would be damned if he was going to go through with one of Madara’s insane plans, or lack thereof. They were going to have at least a semblance of an intelligent layout for what they were going to do before they went forward.

“Come on,” Tobirama said. He took a couple of steps toward a line of tall and thin pine trees that were maybe twenty feet away from the store. It would be a quick jog over and it would provide them just enough cover to be safe. "What the hell are you getting at?" Madara snarled. "We have to go and get the truck! We're not going to--"

"I'm not suggesting that we abandon the truck," Tobirama cut him off impatiently. "We still need to think of something to do. We're not going to lose the truck _and_ our lives due to your blatant stupidity.”

“We don’t have time to just sit around,” Madara growled at him. “We need to get the supplies before they drive off with it! I’m not about to let your cowardice stop me.”

“We can fight all you want when we get back unscathed,” Tobirama growled at him. “Right now, we need to focus on the important things. Quit mistaking my intelligence for cowardice. If you go out there, you’re going out there without me, and I have no doubts that you’re going to die. Just give it two minutes at the most and I know that we’re going to have a much better chance of getting the truck back. Just use you fucking head for once in your life and see that this is the better way.”

Madara glowered at him and snarled, “If we don’t get this truck back, you’re going to be a dead man. Got it?”

Tobirama wanted to lash out at him so much, but this was life-or-death, and he wasn’t dumb enough to try and pick a fight with him while they were out in the open. He would get his retribution soon enough. As soon as they were relatively safe, he was going to kick his ass. It would be a bloody and angry fight, but Tobirama knew that it would feel amazing. All of the anger and animosity that was stirring in his gut needed to be released or he didn’t know what he was going to do.

He looked up as they both began rushing toward the tree line. Water was starting to fall from the sky, and he knew that the downpour was only minutes away.

 

 

Iruka was silent for a few moments, just looking over at Kakashi. They were both seated in the older boy’s living room. It was raining heavily outside, and the thunder and lightning was appearing periodically. Iruka figured that it was only going to get worse before it got any better. He remained silent as he watched his companion dig through a draw that was in the living room. It was a few moments, but he straightened up and had a large blanket in his hand. He walked toward the loveseat and threw it at Iruka without preamble before he walked to the fireplace. Iruka immediately curled up and pulled the blanket over him, cuddling inside as tightly as he could. It was cold outside and inside. The water hadn't made it any better, and Iruka felt as though he was losing a tug of war battle with the outside for his body heat. The blanket was making things better, but it still wasn’t enough. It was going to take forever for him to get back to feeling normal again.

He shut his eyes and tried to ignore the ache in his limbs and core from the cold. A moment later, something brighter was flickering from past his shut eyelids, and he immediately opened them. There was a small fire crackling merrily in the fireplace, growing larger as he watched. Gratefulness caused his heart to swell in his chest at the thought and he sighed in contentment. “I’d tell you that you’re the best,” Iruka muttered to Kakashi, “but I don’t want your already big head to swell up any more than it already is.

“We wouldn’t want that, would we,” Kakashi said. His voice was quiet, but that didn’t stop the amusement from shining through obnoxiously. “Move over a little,” Kakashi commanded.

Iruka grumbled to himself quietly as he complied. He shuffled even farther to the right of the loveseat and basically cuddled to the arm of the sofa. He felt the couch dip down on his other side. There was a tugging sensation on his blanket, and Iruka grudgingly let go of the fabric to allow Kakashi to pull some off of him. He had to hold back a hiss as the icy air hit his slowly heating skin. It burned, and he began shivering almost immediately. Kakashi quickly covered him back up again and he felt something warm pressing against him. He knew that it was Kakashi. The loveseat was only so large, after all. He might have felt a bit strange about it, however, if Kakashi wasn’t causing him to heat up a bit more quickly. It took every ounce of control that he had not to turn around and curl himself around the other boy and leech the heat off him.

They were silent for a few moments. His eyes were closed, and he felt himself starting to slowly drift off. Before he could manage to pass over from the realm of unconsciousness, Kakashi’s soft voice knocked him out of his stupor. “Ruka?” he asked almost tentatively.

“What’s up?” Iruka asked, cringing at how horrible his voice sounded. He hadn’t realized how tired he’d been before.

“I don’t want to upset you,” he mumbled, “but I want you to know. I’m leaving for my run tomorrow.”

Iruka felt fear grip his heart. That single sentence had caused him to wake up and he knew that it would be a long time before he was able to sleep. He wouldn’t be able to sleep properly again until Kakashi was safely back inside of these gates. He didn’t say any of that, however, knowing that it would only make the silvery-haired boy feel bad. He didn’t need to think about Iruka right now, he needed to think about himself and make sure that he stayed safe.

“Just promise me that you’re going to be careful,” Iruka bargained. “I won’t be upset if you can promise me that you’re going to be careful.”

There was a long stretch of silence, and Iruka was starting to get worried. Was Kakashi going out there with the intention of getting hurt? He finally spoke, however. “You know that outside of these gates, it’s uncertain. I can’t promise you that I’m going to be safe.”

“I didn’t ask you to promise me that,” Iruka informed him. “I asked you to promise me that you’d be careful. I know that there’s no guarantee that you’ll be safe, but I know that you can get yourself out of almost anything as long as you’re not being stupid.”

“I think that I can promise that I won’t do anything stupid,” Kakashi said. The amusement was back in his voice, and Iruka pursed his lips at the sound. Part of him wanted to smack Kakashi over the head out of annoyance, but another part of him felt happy that he was able to make Kakashi lighten up a little from his normally sour mood.

Kakashi had promised that he would be alright, so Iruka could trust that. He shut his eyes again. _He’s going to be fine. This is what he’s good at, and you have to trust him to do it._ He was still incredibly uneasy, but he let out a low breath and forced himself to calm down a bit. He subconsciously huddled a bit closer to Kakashi and allowed himself to relax a little.

He noticed that Kakashi smelled like rain and fire at the same time. For some reason, it was a nice, calming scent that let him quickly drift off into unconsciousness. A small nap never hurt anyone. He was sure that he would only be asleep for an hour at the most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that you enjoyed the chapter. The next one should be out soon.


	8. Chapter 8

This might have been the single worst day of Madara’s life. He was in the forced company of a man that he disliked passionately, and all of the work that he’d done for the majority of the day was in danger of being for nothing… less than nothing, actually because it was going to be a loss if they didn’t get the truck back. To top all of that lovely information off, it was pouring down rain.

The overcast had decided that this was the _perfect_ time to open up and unleash a torrent of nearly frozen hell on earth. It hadn’t been a gradual increase of precipitation either. It was as though buckets of water had started dumping over his head as soon as the rain started, and it hadn’t gotten any better. He knew that the sound of the rain pouring down might be to their advantage, but the way that their clothes squelched every time they moved probably wouldn’t be, and there was no way that the way that their clothes were restricting their movements so much would put the odds of them pulling any sort of smooth stunt off in their favor.

Tobirama didn’t look much happier about all of this himself. His looked more like a drowned cat than anything else, and Madara felt a bit better because he knew that he wasn’t the only one that was miserable in the downpour.

They both stepped out of the poor cover of the strip of trees and began moving toward the truck.  “You really think that this is going to work?” Madara questioned the other.

Tobirama was silent for a few moments. His scowl never fully left his face, but his expression was much more thoughtful than it had been just moments ago. It was at least half a minute before he spoke, and his words did not comfort Madara in the least. “No,” he finally said. “It’s far-fetched and insane. We don’t have any choice though.”

Despite his words, Tobirama’s voice wasn’t resigned to his fate. There was a fire in his attitude that told Madara that the younger man wasn’t about to give up, even if the odds were stacked heavily against them. Madara didn’t know where the confidence was coming from, since he didn’t seem to have any confidence in his plan. It was curious, just like the rest of him, and Madara just prayed that he lived to figure out the strange idiosyncrasies that made up his entire personality.

When they made it to the door again, Tobirama immediately took off for the back of the store, leaving Madara to go the opposite way, toward the front. He thought back to Tobirama’s words of action, praying that he didn’t screw it up and cost them not only the truck, but their lives as well. _I’m very quick on my feet. I’ll rush to the other side of the store, distract them and try to draw them away. Wait for an opening and go for the truck. There was a small town about a mile away from here. We’ll both meet back there in at least an hour. If I’m not back by that time, I’m probably dead. Go on back to the colony and get those supplies to the people._

He shuddered at the nonchalant way that Tobirama spoke of his own demise. Madara didn’t want to be so curious about why the other didn’t really seem to care about what happened to him, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t like that. People that were willing to do anything to save their own skin were predictable and easy to read. Those who were uncaring of what happened to themselves were impossible to read, and they were unpredictable. He didn’t know if Tobirama was just brave to the point of stupidity, and that was why he didn’t care, or if there was another reason.

 _That doesn’t matter right now,_ Madara snapped at himself. _Forget about that idiot for right now and focus on the entire reason that you’re here._ Madara took a deep breath and quickened his pace slightly until he reached the edge of the store.

It was hard to see past the downpour, but Madara managed. It was probably a good thing that it was raining so hard. He doubted that any of the people out would be able to see him unless they really looked, and he doubted that would be the case. There were two members of the group at the truck. One of them, the blond from earlier was standing on the tailgate, looking down at what all had been put inside. Another had half of their body in the truck on the driver’s side. Madara didn’t know what they were looking for, but he doubted that they would find it. Nothing had really been packed, other than a small lunch that had barely been enough to feed two people.

After a moment, he saw a pale blur rush into view from behind the building. He realized that it was Tobirama. He rushed forward and grabbed the person in the driver’s side by the ankles and wrenched them backward, snatching them totally out of the truck. “Hey!” the blond said, immediately jumping down from the bed. A moment later, two more men ran out of the building. One of them was huge with a large sword strapped to his back while the other was a redhead and much slenderer in comparison.

Tobirama moved forward and basically tackled the blond into the wet asphalt. They both landed painfully, but Tobirama didn’t stay down for long. He jumped to his feet and took off toward the road at a run, not bothering to look behind him. The redhead immediately took off after him, moving quickly. The larger man followed suit, but not before barking orders at the two on the ground.

“Find the other one, idiots!” he snapped before sprinting away to catch up with the redhead, who was attempting to outrun Tobirama. His comrade really was as fast as he had claimed a few minutes before.

It looked as though it was probably going to take a while for the others to pick themselves off the ground, so Madara figured that this was his chance if there ever was one. He quickly moved forward, though he tried his best to be as discreet as one could be when they were moving out in the open with only rain as a cover. He made sure to keep his eyes on the two on the ground. They were still moving slowly, probably focused on the jarring pain of being flung onto wet asphalt.

He made it halfway to the truck before he was noticed. He couldn’t even be angry about the distance. He figured that he’d done damn good, even if the ideal outcome would have been them not seeing him until it was too late, and he was already in the car. He supposed that not everything could go right all of the time, and he would have to take his wins, no matter how small they felt.

“Come on, Tobi!” the blond snapped, struggling to get to his feet. He seemed dazed, and Madara wondered how hard Tobirama had caused him to hit his head. It must have been a pretty solid hit, if the blood leaking down his forehead was any indicator. That really sucked for the blond, but it meant good luck for him.

He rushed the blond as his companion, he guessed the guy’s name was Tobi, was still struggling to get off the ground. He was praying that he could simply tackle him again, and just make it a quick fight, with hopefully no repercussions at all…for him anyway. Of course, he’s not that lucky. The blond was much quicker than Madara gave him credit for, even concussed. He dodged Madara’s attempt to barrel into him like Tobirama had, and Madara just sailed right past him. It was much harder to skid to a complete stop in the rain, much to Madara’s dismay.

He turned around to attack the blond again, but as soon as he turned, all he saw was a dull glint. He had enough sense to jump out of the way, but it was too late. He felt a burning, agonizing pain in his shoulder and had to fight back a curse as he stumbled sideways, away from his attacker. He felt the knife twist around in his shoulder before it was wrenched out by the other. Madara knew that his instinct to jump away from the pain hadn’t helped matters in the least, but it was too late now. He needed to get this fight over with and assess the damage on his shoulder as soon as possible. There was a good chance that he’d lose too much blood otherwise.

He spun around, ignoring the sharp sting in the wound, that was only being worsened by the downpour that was around him. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, opening up his senses and slowing everything down. He saw the blond coming at him again with the knife, and he easily sidestepped the blow and brought his good arm up, hooking it underneath his opponent’s armpit and wrenched upward, pulling the weapon up in the air. He ignored the pain in his shoulder as he brought his other arm up and slammed his hand against the clenched one that he’d knocked up into the air as hard as he could. He saw the weapon going flying, which was good enough for him.

He pulled his arm away and the blond stumbled sideways, cursing. Madara didn’t let him run and regroup his thoughts. He followed after and stayed on him. As soon as he was close enough he swung. The blond blocked his fist with a forearm and brought his own fist toward Madara’s face. He blocked that blow and bodily pushed himself forward. He was physically stronger than his opponent and was able to get well within his personal space. He headbutted him as hard as he could, ignoring the stinging pain in his own skull as he watched the other man. His knees weakened, and he fell to the slick asphalt. Madara didn’t stop there. He brought his knee up and rammed it into the man’s face, knocking him on to his back. He kicked him in the side once, twice, a third time for good measure. He knew that it was wrong to kick people while they were already down, but the only thing that he could think of was that there was no way that they could be physically able to get back up before he left. If they were, then there was a good chance that they might be able to find a way to track him back to the colony. There was no way that he was going to be able to live with himself if he let that happen.

He quickly turned from the blond and saw that the man with the mask, Tobi, had just managed to scramble to his own two feet. Madara growled in annoyance as he took a menacing step toward his next victim. The man held out his hands, as though trying his best to placate Madara. The gesture was not going to work, especially not with how badly the wound on his shoulder was starting to throb. He was in a foul mood and was itching for something to rip apart. He figured that Tobi would be an ideal beating dummy, even if he really didn’t have time for it.

“Look, big guy!” the man said shakily. “J-just calm down! There’s no need for you to be so angry!”

That entire sentence pissed Madara off more than _anything_ that he’d heard that day. There was no need for him to be so angry? He’d been put through hell because of this stupid group. He’d fallen on a disgusting, decomposed corpse while playing hide-and-go-see in the dark with Tobirama for crying out loud. It was all their fault, this idiot included, that his entire day had been a rapidly steepening decline since he’d woken up this morning. Madara had never wished death on anyone, but he couldn’t help but feel that this entire day might have been a bit brighter if his knife had gone where he’d aimed it at: the center of this freak’s forehead!

The masked man must have read the furious look on Madara’s face. He immediately scrambled backward, but he was blocked off by the door at his back. He jumped in obvious surprise, and Madara didn’t give him time to get over the shock before he rushed him. The man yelped when Madara swung at him and immediately ducked. Madara’s fist hit the glass on the truck door. It didn’t shatter on impact, but there was a nice sized crack on it now. None of the people in the colony were going to be very happy about that, but they were just going to have to get over it.

The man jumped to Madara’s left, the same side that he’d been stabbed in. He felt a sharp, agonizing pain as the man punched him in the front part of his shoulder. His entire left side leaned back from the impact and he felt the wound move and knew that it was probably bleeding even more. It wasn’t like he could tell. The rain was freezing, and there was no way to distinguish blood from water when they were both mixed together in an icy mess, running down his back.

He hissed angrily. The sharp sting had done nothing more than piss him off even more, and the burning ache made him more furious than anything else. Madara wanted to rip his throat out. He actually felt the urge to take this man’s life, which was something that he’d never felt before. He let out a low growl as he straightened up and looked at the other man, who looked as though he was moments from hopping into the truck in an effort to get away. Before he could, Madara’s hand shot out. The man tried his best to dodge, but Madara was faster.

His hand wrapped around the other man’s throat and he slung him to the side, squeezing as hard as he could in an effort to cut off his airway. He felt large hands on his wrist in a futile effort to get him to let go, but Madara was having none of that. He turned and wrenched the other man with him. The other’s feet tripped and stumbled, but he managed to keep his balance as Madara moved him. Once he was in the clear, Madara slammed him into the side of the truck, making sure that the other hit his head as hard as he could. There was a low whine of protest, and the hands on his wrist started fumbling even more out of desperation. He brought the man out and slammed him again. He wanted to cause this asshole pain, as much pain as possible, but he knew that he was quickly running out of time. He needed to go to that town and wait for Tobirama.

He brought his left arm back toward him and clenched in hand into a tight fist before he let it fly. He felt a sting against his own knuckles as they made contact with the mask on the freak’s face. He felt the wooden material crack underneath the impact of the blow. The man’s face tried to snap to the side, but Madara’s hand clasped tightly around his neck prevented him from moving too much.

Madara reeled back once more, ready to swing again, but the man fell completely limp before he swung. The hands wrapped around Madara’s wrist slid off and fell bonelessly to the other’s side as all of the masked man’s weight now fell onto Madara’s arm, who immediately let go, allowing the man to slump to the ground.

Madara wanted to just jump into the truck and go, but he knew that he had to at least move the masked man from the truck’s path. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to kill any unconscious man on a clear conscience. He sighed, and not-so-gently kicked the other man out of the way. He rolled without any problem at all. Madara kept the motion up until he had rolled over a good four or five times. Tobi was sprawled on his back, his arms splayed out by his sides and his mask only barely hiding his identity.

Curiosity burned through Madara for a moment before he clamped down on it. Of all times, this was not a moment where Madara should be worrying about anyone’s identity. He quickly turned around from both men and hopped into the truck, grimacing as he slid across the leather seat. He slammed the door behind him and quickly fished his keys out of his pockets before starting the truck and quickly taking off.

Rain was pouring down on the windshield as he quickly cut around twists and turns to get to his goal. The wipers were on their maximum speed, but it still wasn’t really enough. It didn’t help that he was steadily losing blood. He was certain that his vision was starting to go blurry, and he knew that he didn’t have long before he lost consciousness if that was the case.

He hunched himself forward so that he was closer to the windshield. The pain that the position caused for his shoulder cleared his vision a little, allowing him to better focus on the road ahead of him.

He wondered where Tobirama was. As much as he didn’t like the surly bastard, he hoped that he was alright. Madara wasn’t one to wish death upon anyone, and Tobirama had really saved his ass by luring two of those freaks away from the parking lot. Madara knew that he needed to return the favor before it was too late.

He skidded to a stop as soon as he turned into the town and looked around through the downpour. It would be a special kind of stupid to just leave the truck out in the open. If the two men chasing Tobirama ran across it, they would be even angrier knowing that they had been duped. It was much safer to park it somewhere hidden and leave himself out in the open to wait for the white-haired man.

He saw a small side-road nearby with several brick homes crunched together. They all had tiny yards, but each of them had an identical garage, a perfect place for hiding this huge hunk of metal. The key would be finding one that would fit the truck. He quickly gunned the engine and sped down the road and saw something that made his heart skip a beat. Maybe his bad luck was running out.

There was a large, rotting sign standing out in the front of the yard. It looked as though it had probably been white at one point, but that time was long gone. It said _Open House_ in grimy letters _._ Madara managed a faint smile at that sight and quickly pulled into the driveway. The house seemed to be neat enough, aside from the hideously unkempt grass. There were no blood smears or broken windows cluttering the exteriors. Part of Madara was a bit weary about this. He’d already had a run-in with walking blindly into a situation that he thought was going to be harmless enough. If he was being honest with himself, he wished that Tobirama was there to tell him whether the idea was foolish or not. He wasn’t being honest with himself, however, and ignored the part of him that craved a seasoned second opinion.

He quickly turned the truck off and scrambled out into the downpour. As soon as he got out, he had to grab onto the back of the truck and stabilize himself. He’d come close to face-planting the concrete driveway. His head was swimming and he felt as though everything was moving in slow motion. He wasn’t sure if he was numb to the raindrops that were falling down, or if it was a sensory overload thanks to his light head.

 _I don’t have time for this,_ Madara thought to himself angrily as he began stumbling toward the door of the garage. His legs felt like Jell-O, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to be able to remain upright. He knew that he needed to take care of his shoulder before it got any worse, but he couldn’t do that until he found Tobirama and got them both to safety. The first step toward this goal was getting this truck into that garage. He grimaced and started pushing forward even as his head began spinning even more fiercely.

He made it to the garage door and paused, breathing heavily as he leaned against the freezing, slick metal for a moment to get his head straight. He felt like he was about to puke, but he knew that there wasn't anything at all in his stomach. He clenched his eyes shut, and just concentrated on the frigid sensation of the rainwater hitting his face. After a moment, his head felt a bit clearer and his body felt more under his control. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again before he squinted through the harsh downpour and grabbed the handle to the garage door and pulled upward.

It didn't budge.

Madara cursed under his breath and gritted his teeth angrily. There was no way that his luck was really turning out this horribly. This _had_ to be Tobirama's fault. There was no other explanation. He'd never had an outing go this bad before, so the only conclusion was that the white-haired jerk was a walking bad-luck charm that Madara had gotten the pleasure of being saddled with. He looked around and saw that there was a metal bar just at chest-height. It was near the wall of the garage where there was a metal loop that was nailed into the brick. A large, sturdy-looking deadbolt was latched onto the two pieces of metal, holding it in place. Madara sighed at the sight of it and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Even if he was at full strength, which he _definitely_ wasn't, it would be impossible for him to break any one of those pieces of metal bare-handed.

He just stood there for a moment and contemplated. He was running out of time, that was the only thing that he was certain of. Tobirama was bound to be nearby, and there was a good chance that those thugs would still be after him. He was going to be tired after running all the way to the town, and Madara was in no condition to fight at all. The two-on-one situation wouldn't fare well when Tobirama was going to be preoccupied with protecting him against those two other men, and that was counting on the fact that the blond and the man with the mask hadn't already made it back to their feet and started chasing after their other two partners to help out.

Alright, then. It was time to go searching once again. He turned around and walked back toward the truck. His head was spinning harshly, as though he’d just been hit on the back of his head with a wooden baseball bat, and his stomach lurched again. He was halfway to the truck when the sensations became overwhelming. He felt himself tipping forward, flailing wildly as he tried to catch himself. Sadly, there was nothing to catch onto and he hit the concrete driveway heavily. He had just enough of his reflex left to bring his arms forward and stop his face from slamming against the concrete. Those two limbs gave away quickly, and he lurched forward again, hitting the ground a lot more softly than the rest of his body.

 _Get up_ , he snapped at himself angrily. _You don't have time for this!_ His body wasn't responding correctly, however, and he just lay there. His head was spinning even more than before as his eyes began fluttering shut. He tried his best to fight it, but he was so cold and in so much pain. Passing out seemed to be much more agreeable than staying awake. He wouldn't know that he was cold or potentially dying. The last thing that he remembered consciously thinking was that he hoped that an infected wasn't anywhere nearby.

 

_His mind flowed in and out of dreams. Some were sad, such as the memory of his parents dying on a scavenging mission, while others were happy, like the memories that resurfaced in his mind of his brother swooning over that fearsome woman that Madara couldn’t remember the name of. Most of the dreams, however, didn’t make sense. They were mostly flashes of colors and faces rushing through._

“Uchiha! _” He could hear someone snarling his name angrily, but as he looked around in his dream, he could find no one speaking_. “Can you hear me, Madara?” _He jumped and spun around at this noise. Tobirama was standing against a backdrop of darkness with his arms crossed over his chest. His red eyes were disapproving as he looked him over. “_ If you can hear me, you idiot, then you need to wake up!”

“I’m trying,” _Madara insisted, and he really was. Even in his unconscious state, the thought of giving Tobirama a reason to bitch at him seemed wholly unappealing._

“Wake up, dammit! I need to know that you’re okay!” _Tobirama hissed at him again. It was as though he hadn’t heard Madara’s assurances and was just cursing at him because he could. Aggravated, Madara scowled at him and crossed his arms over his chest. The dream Tobirama was just as annoying as the one in reality. It didn’t stop the fact that Madara could hear the concern that was in Tobirama’s voice. There was a note to it that caused his heart to pang. He wanted to make the man understand that he was trying his best to wake up so that he could reassure him._

“Please, just wake up!” _Tobirama’s voice cracked, and Madara felt himself stiffen at that noise. Tobirama was an incorrigible, cold-hearted jerk, and he should never sound like that._

 

Madara’s eyes snapped open, and the first thing that he noticed as that he was _freezing_. It was a bone-deep chill that caused tremors throughout his entire body. His limbs were shaking next to his trunk, but he couldn’t see them due to the blanket that he was tucked underneath. It was thin and scratchy, but he hated to think about how cold he would be without it.

It was dark, but he could see Tobirama kneeling over him. A flashlight was on next to him, casting everything into either dark shadows or sharp relief. Tobirama’s face was a bit of both. Half of his face was nothing more than a shadow, thanks to his shaggy hair. The part that Madara was able to see was covered in dirt, cuts and a bit of blood.

“You’re alright,” Madara managed to croak, letting his eyes flutter shut for a few moments. “You’re a fucking lunatic. You know that, right?”

“Worry about yourself,” Tobirama told him. “You’re lucky to be alive right now. You were stabbed in the shoulder. I think it missed any major vessels, but it looks pretty deep. I don’t know how long you’d been outside before I found you, but you were cold. Your lips were starting to turn blue, and I wasn’t sure if you were even alive anymore.”

Madara flinched when he felt something positively frigid against his forehead. It took his mind a moment to realize that it was the back of Tobirama’s hand pressed against his skin. He saw the man’s eyebrows crinkle together into a frown. Tobirama kept his hand there for a few moments, a distant look in his red eyes.

“You’re the lunatic,” Tobirama finally said quietly as he took his hand off Madara’s head. “What the hell were you doing outside with a wound like that? You shouldn’t have been moving around at all. You could have gotten yourself killed. I have no wish to have to tell your cousin and brother that you died over something like this.”

“I was thinking of you,” Madara snapped at him, feeling his cheeks heat up at the soft reprimand that Tobirama had just dealt out to him. “I didn’t know what shape you were going to be in, and I figured that we could lay low in that house for a while.” It seemed like it was a good plan. The last thing that they needed was those freaks following them back to their town, so hiding out for a while was a good idea in that regard as well. He wanted to explain that to Tobirama, but his throat felt as though it was raw, and it hurt too much to talk.

Tobirama caught his lower lip between his lower and upper teeth and worried it for a moment as he backed away from Madara and straightened up. “Just rest for a little while,” he said quietly. “We’re not going to move until your fever breaks.”

Madara sighed and shut his eyes. He shifted around a little and winced as the wound on his shoulder tugged. There was a pressure around it, and Madara realized that it was bandaged. He could tell just by the feel of it.

He felt a surge of grudging gratitude toward the other man. Tobirama wasn’t as callous as he tried to make himself out to be, that much was obvious to Madara now. The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could even think about stopping them. “Thank you for watching out for me.”

He quickly felt himself falling into unconsciousness in the silence that followed those words. Just before he fell under completely, he could hear Tobirama’s mumbled answer. “Forget about it. I told you I wouldn’t let my partner die.”

 

Tobirama was silent as he sat next to Madara. He couldn’t help the way that his muscles sagged in relief as he looked over at the older man. His eyes were shut as he slept. His muscles were relaxed, and there wasn’t a bit of tenseness in his body, which was the exact opposite of what he had been like before Tobirama had managed to wake him. His entire body had been tensed as he had flipped back and forth restlessly. Tobirama had been worried that Madara had been infected. The fear had been almost paralyzing. Watching the infection spread and a person change from a human into one of those monsters was an emotionally scarring process, and Tobirama didn’t think that he could handle the thought of watching a comrade go through it.

As soon as Madara had spoken, Tobirama knew that all was well. Once the newly infected lost consciousness, they wouldn’t wake up until they were turned. Tobirama had been prepared for the worst, and his dagger had been in his hand, ready to plunge it into his neck and put him out of his misery. It had relieved him so much that he had dropped the dagger completely to the ground as his muscles basically melted from the respite of stress.

He inhaled deeply and pushed himself to his feet and winced. His back panged with the effort. He was sore, and he winced as his muscles clenched and pulsed around a sore cut on his back. He’d taken a bad tumble in the forest outside of the town, He knew that there was no way that he could chance a fight with his two pursuers. Both men had been a good size, and they had been very quick to chase after him. Their confidence was probably not unfounded after this long with the infected, and Tobirama knew better than to press his luck when there were other options. He had gone deeper in the forest and lost them by luck in the dense foliage. It had cost him, however. He’d ran into a hole on a steep incline and had gone down. His shoulder had slammed against a tree, jarring him straight to the bone, and he’d landed on a sharp, broken branch. It had torn through his shirt and sliced into his skin.

He needed to clean himself up but checking out the house and making sure that it was completely secure was even more important. Once he’d managed to get Madara inside, he’d only had enough time to do a quick search throughout the home and make sure there were none of the infected inside, but that was all. He needed to have some peace of mind to know that the house was fortified enough to get them through the night. He wouldn’t be getting any sleep anyway, but even staying on watch wasn’t enough with the heavy rain. It was nearly impossible to hear anything clearly over the downpour, and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to hear a window breaking from across the house. He needed to put something across the reachable windows and in front of the doors.

He was silent as he walked out of the room. The windows in the front room where Madara was laying would be fine. Tobirama would be staying in there and would be able to properly watch over them throughout the night. The front room led directly into the kitchen, so those windows would be fine too. The most important parts to cover were the windows in the bedrooms.

The house was nearly immaculate all the way throughout. There was no sign of panicked exits from any point in the house, leading Tobirama to believe that it wasn’t lived in. He had just gone into the same house that he’d found Madara outside of. He’d noticed a sign out in the front yard, but he’d been too busy rushing toward the truck and a prone figure in the driveway to pay much attention to it. The sign had probably been a _for-sale-_ sign, Tobirama concluded as he came into the first bedroom.

It was large with a bed settled in the middle of the space. There was a lone dresser on the wall that was just in front of the bed. Tobirama sighed and took a step forward. He pressed his hands against the wooden dresser and pushed. His muscles strained painfully as he coaxed the furniture to slide across the wooden floor. He was panting by the time he had managed to maneuver it in front of the window. He felt sweat roll down his forehead as he straightened up and backed away. It was enough to cover half of the window. If someone wanted to get inside, they were going to have to knock the dresser over _after_ breaking the window. Tobirama was bound to hear at least something and have time to prepare himself for an attack.

He sighed as he shuffled out of the room. He had two more rooms to go.

He felt like he was about to drop by the time that he got to the last room. Working this hard on his own was exhausting to say the least, and he was suddenly grateful for the rest of his family for being there the entire time that he'd been living nomadically. There was no way that he would have been able to keep himself alive with all of the precautions that it took to be outside of a sanctuary. He sighed as he entered the last room. It was probably the master bedroom. There were two smaller chest-of-drawers pushed against a sidewall. That was just fine for Tobirama, because there were two windows as well. He moved to the first dresser and began pushing it toward the far wall.

He moved it into place and rested his tired head against the wood for a moment, breathing in and out. He was about to push himself off the wood and get back to work when he felt a pressure on his injured shoulder, coupled by the phrase "What the hell are you doing?"

Tobirama didn't even register the sound of the voice before he reacted. His hand was already on the handle of his knife, snatching it out of his sheath as he grabbed the hand on his shoulder with his free hand and turned around. He pulled his opponent's hand with him as he shoved against his attacker and slammed them into the wall, his other hand coming up and pressing his knife firmly against the other's throat, and his other forearm pressed against their chest with the other's wrist still in his grip. He breathed heavily, just staring wildly at his attacker for a moment before he started taking in features.

He saw weary, dark eyes that were widened in alarm. The pale skin of the man's face was framed by unruly black hair. He looked sickly, but even with that and a knife at his neck, his expression was still almost unbearably proud. Tobirama inhaled deeply and slowly released Madara from his grasp and backed away a couple of steps as he willed his racing heart to slow down a little. Adrenaline rushes were good and all, but he figured that his body honestly couldn't handle one with how exhausted he felt.

“You’re bleeding,” Madara said quietly after a moment of silence.

Tobirama remained quiet, biting back his shock at the comment. He wasn’t surprised that he was bleeding, but he couldn’t believe that Madara hadn’t immediately reprimanded him for holding a knife to his throat. It was definitely a mistake that Tobirama would have immediately started bitching at Madara about. The other man had simply pushed it aside, however, as if the fact that Tobirama had a cut was infinitely more important.

“I should have asked you about injuries when I woke up the first time,” Madara continued on as though he hadn’t expected Tobirama to respond at all. “I am sorry for not thinking of it. Are you injured anywhere else, other than your lower back?”

“I’m fine,” Tobirama answered automatically.

Madara’s eyes narrowed at this, and he snapped, “This isn’t the time to bullshit around. I need to know what shape your actually in, Senju. Where else are you hurt?”

“I just told you that I’m fine,” Tobirama retorted back. “I don’t need your help. You need to get some more rest.”

Madara’s eyes narrowed at Tobirama. He hadn’t moved, and Tobirama just stared back. For some reason, that was the time when Tobirama really noticed Madara’s state of undress. It shouldn’t have been much of a surprise to him, considering that Tobirama had been the one to strip the man down to his boxers. For some reason, however, it was a bit more distracting when the worry of injury wasn’t looming over him.

Madara was… _built._ He had a thick, muscular body, which was something that Tobirama had idly figured was the case, but he hadn’t been able to confirm it with the baggy clothes that Madara always had on. It was still dark, however, and it was nearly impossible to make out much more than the silhouette of his impressive build.

It took him a moment to realize what he was doing, and his eyes snapped back up to Madara’s face. He couldn’t tell if he’d been staring long enough to get caught by the other man or not. Madara’s expression hadn’t changed at all, which was somewhat of a relief. Maybe Tobirama had hit his head on his fall too; that was the only thing to explain the stupid place that his mind had wandered off to.

Embarrassment filled him to his brim at the thought of it alone, and he stiffly cut his eyes away from Madara’s entire frame. “I rolled my ankle and hit my shoulder,” Tobirama said quietly. “They’re not much of a big deal, however. Your injury is a lot more concerning than any of mine.”

“You need to get out of those clothes,” Madara informed him. “It’s too cold outside for you to be wet. Go and take them off. I’ll put the dresser in front of the window.”

“You don’t need to—”

“I am aware of my own limits,” Madara told him. “I have warmed up, my arm is bandaged, and I have slept. I am in better condition than you are right now, even if it is only by a small amount. Now, go and take care of yourself. I’ll handle this.”

Tobirama bristled at how much that sounded like an order. He longed to snap that he was fine, but he really was cold. His body was starting to tremble as it tried its best to lure heat in some kind of way. His side, shoulder and ankle were all throbbing in sync, and Tobirama was unsure which one he wanted to cradle more. He hated it, but he finally nodded and allowed his ego to take a blow as he turned around and walked out of the room. Madara was right. This really was for the best.

He moved to the living room, where the small flashlight was still shining dimly. He took another weary look around before he peeled his jacket off and got to work on removing his shirt next. It clung to him like a second skin, and his shoulder hurt. It was hard to move the injured joint enough to pull off the heavy piece of fabric. He quickly just gave up on that garment and kicked his shoes and socks off as he started on his pants. They were difficult to get off, but not impossible. They slid down his hips without much of a fight, the only thing that gave him hell about it were his frozen fingertips. He sat on the floor, leaning against the couch that was shoved against a large window that opened to the front yard, and tipped his head back that it was resting against the cushions.

He heard soft footsteps shuffling toward him and rolled his head lazily to the side so that he could peer toward the noise. He saw Madara walking back into the living room. He was silent as he observed the man pause in the middle of the room and cross his arms over his bare chest and stare directly at Tobirama.

“Is there a reason why you’re still in that shirt?” Madara questioned. “This is not the time to be bashful, Senju. You’re going to catch your death if you’re not careful.”

“’m not bashful,” Tobirama muttered, looking away from the accusing glare as he turned his head back around and looked up at the ceiling once more. “I’ve got nothing to hide from anyone, least of all you.”

“Then take it off before you catch a cold,” Madara snapped at him. “Honestly, you make no sense.”

“I don’t want to take it off,” Tobirama informed him. It wasn’t exactly the truth, but hell would freeze over before he asked for help from Madara. The bastard would never let him live it down.

Silence rang through the air after that, and Tobirama let his eyes shut. Madara had probably just given up and chalked it up to his apparent stupidity. That was fine by him. Tobirama just wanted to rest for a little while, and he couldn’t do that if the other man kept talking.

“You hurt your shoulder,” Madara’s voice was quiet, but there was no anger in his tone. It was just understanding, which was what caused Tobirama’s eyes to fly open yet again. He heard shuffling feet getting closer and closer to him and lifted his head up just in time to see Madara kneel on the floor next to him.

“What do you want?” Tobirama asked grouchily. Madara was supposed to be resting. The idiot had lost too much blood, and Tobirama was trying so damn hard to be kind and caring toward him. Why couldn’t Madara just accept it with good grace and do what Tobirama was silently asking him to do?

“I’m going to help you,” Madara informed him. With any more preamble than that, Tobirama felt burning hands against his icy stomach. He hissed and immediately tried to back away, only to be stopped by the couch.

“Don’t touch me!” Tobirama growled as he moved to get to his feet. Before he could to much more than shift, Madara already had his hand planted firmly on his hips, pushing him back down to the floor.

“Don’t be an idiot!” Madara advised him, his voice growing impatient. “You have to get warm, and you’re not going to be able to do that with that shirt on. You helped me…just let me return the favor.”

Tobirama didn’t reply. He couldn’t stop the squirming in his stomach as he listened to Madara. Madara’s hands had almost brushed against a jagged scar that tore into his stomach. He wasn’t ashamed of the mark, but he didn’t like people touching it either. It brought up too many bad memories and flashbacks that made him more than just a little nauseous. It made him feel like he was back in a dark, cold warehouse, tied to a chair as so much pain wracked his body….

He stiffened and jolted himself out of that flashback before it could get any worse. His stomach was positively churning from it already, and the last thing that he wanted was to vomit on his comrade. He looked at the man in question and took a deep, calming breath. He could see Madara. He could look at the dark eyes and pale complexion and tell that he wasn’t either one of those freaky brothers that had given him numerous scars.

After a few moments of contemplation, he nodded jerkily in a grudging sign of permission. He felt Madara’s too-hot hands on him again and gritted his teeth as his shirt raised up. He didn’t know if it was due to the discomfort of the heat against his skin, the memories of the torture session with those psychopaths, or if it was the thought of Madara seeing the extent of his scars. He wasn’t ashamed of them, but they weren’t aesthetically pleasing either, and he didn’t like the thought of being compared to someone as attractive as Madara in that regard.

He waited almost resignedly for the sharp inhale of breath at the sight of the grotesque marks on his skin, at best, or a snide comment at worst. He knew that there would be some sort of reaction…there always was, no matter who saw them. He could still see the pity in his brother’s eyes every time that he saw them, even after so much time.

The shirt continued to rise, however, without any noise at all, much to Tobirama’s confusion. He knew that Madara was well past the beginning of the jigsaw puzzle that made up his torso. Some of the scars were still very sensitive, and he could feel the air hitting them.

“Can you lift your wounded shoulder up?” Madara questioned, his voice completely steady.

“Not very much,” Tobirama admitted slowly as he tried to get over his shock at the first thing that Madara asked. “I think it might be dislocated.”

Madara paused at that statement and looked at Tobirama with a frown. “Dislocated? You carried me inside, and you were pushing heavy dressers in front of windows. What the hell is _wrong_ with you?”

“It had to be done,” Tobirama replied defensively. “It wasn’t as though you were up to the job, and you had to be safe while you rested, which you still need to be doing.”

“You need to take better care of yourself,” Madara informed him. “This is insane!”

“It’s only painful,” Tobirama snapped. “Other things are more important than my comfort, you know.”

“Being in unnecessary pain is bad for your health,” Madara countered. “You can damage your body like that too.”

Tobirama’s eyebrows furrowed together in frustration. Why was he acting like he cared so much? The last thing that he wanted or needed was Madara getting too cozy in his life, not that he believed that it would ever happen. The older man’s disdain for Tobirama was very clear. So, the only thing that Tobirama could think of was that the Uchiha was working at some kind of angle, though he couldn’t think of how acting like he cared could possibly gain him anything. It didn’t matter, Tobirama finally decided. He’d had enough of all of it.

“I don’t need a lecture on safety from you,” he finally grounded out, “You don’t need to concern yourself with me. You don’t like me, and I don’t like you. We both made it out alive, which is all that either of us owe each other. If you really want to pay me back for dragging your ass back inside, then do it, but quit acting like you care so much.”

Madara’s eyes, which had been alight in concerned frustration immediately went back to the steely coldness that Tobirama was so accustomed to. “Very well, Senju. I’ll pay you back the debt that I owe, and then we’ll be even.” Even as he spoke, he yanked Tobirama’s shirt up a bit higher. The calculated and distant way that he moved felt more comfortable to Tobirama, even if it was a bit rough and would probably be more painful than it would with someone who was actually concerned about him. It was better this way though; this was something that he could handle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that there's not a part with the town in it, but this chapter was already ridiculously long, so that part will be coming in the next chapter. Have no worries. I hope you enjoyed it, and that the longer chapter made up for the longer wait.


	9. Chapter 9

“Kakashi,” he heard his father’s voice calling out to him. He grunted but didn’t open his eyes. Whatever his old man wanted, there was a good chance that it could wait. He was sleeping so well. It was warm, cozy, and reasonably comfortable where he was resting…probably on the living room couch again.

“Wake up, son,” Sakumo’s voice hit his ears again, and he just sighed in resignation. He grudgingly cracked one eye open and looked over at his father questioningly.

Sakumo Hatake was a handsome enough man with silver hair and fare skin, almost exactly like Kakashi’s, though his hair had lost some of the shine that Kakashi’s still possessed. He was looking down at Kakashi with a smile, his gray eyes were shining with mirth over something, and Kakashi felt his body freeze at that look alone. It normally only ever showed up when something embarrassing was happening to him.

What had happened this time?

Kakashi reluctantly opened his other eye and moved to stifle a yawn…or at least tried to. Both of his arms were being pinned down close to his body. He slowly looked down and saw that Iruka’s head was laying on his chest, hair fanned out everywhere in an inelegant rat’s nest as he slept. Kakashi felt his cheeks flare up at the sight alone, but his heart thudded all the same. Being held like this, even if it was in front of his old man, was quite nice.

“Why don’t you wake him up and get him into the guest room?” Sakumo suggested as he slowly made his way past them. “I’m sure that he would be a lot more comfortable there. Besides, I’m pretty sure that you’re going to be leaving out soon.” He grabbed a coat off the rack and slid it across his shoulders. It took a moment for Kakashi to register why that action mortified him even more. The fact that he was going out again meant that his father had been home for at least a little while and had seen them cuddled together.

Struggling to keep his composure, Kakashi nodded curtly. He didn’t move, however, until his father had moved out of his sight and heard the sound of the door clicking shut behind him. He sighed and brought his forearm up, pleased to see that he could moved his elbow around. He grabbed one of Iruka’s arms and shook it gently. The boy on top of him mumbled something indecipherable and shifted. Kakashi’s heart fluttered yet again when he felt the boy nuzzle his face into his chest. The unconscious movement was quite possibly one of the cutest things that he’d ever seen, and it made feelings so tender that they were painful well inside of his chest.

He was almost certain that there was a smile on his face that could only be classified as dopey. It was impossible to make himself care, however. Iruka really was cute…everyone knew it too. You could tell that they knew it just by the way that people interacted with him. Kakashi tried to tell himself that he didn’t care that some of the people around the village had special smiles reserved just for Iruka, but there was no denying the burning sensation that he got in his chest whenever he saw one of those people pass Iruka by and cast that look in his direction.

_Not the best thing to be thinking about when you’re about to leave,_ Kakashi informed himself dryly. _Honestly, you have a lot more important things to have on your mind._

Conceding to that point, he simply sighed and grabbed Iruka by the side and shook him once again, a bit more firmly this time. He’d hate to wake him up rudely, but he needed to get ready to leave. He felt Iruka tense up and then melt completely once again, though this time he heard a low groan. “’m still sleepy,” he heard the younger slur. “What do you want?”

“To get you into bed,” Kakashi said. He felt his face heat up at the double meaning of that sentence, which had just come to him. Thankfully, Iruka seemed too tired to really comprehend much more than the strict definition of that sentence and wasn’t lucid enough to look into innuendos.

He heard Iruka sigh quietly, and Kakashi just relaxed for a moment, resigning himself to allowing Iruka to take his time. He would just have to rush over to where Minato stayed as soon as he could.

He felt it with complete certainty when Iruka came to. His entire body stiffened again, and Kakashi heard the sharp intake of breath. He simply shut his eyes again, waiting for the embarrassed shouting to start. Poor Iruka was just so shy with any sort of affection, thanks to the premature death of his parents. This included physical contact of any kind. Poor guy, he was probably having a panic attack as he sat there.

“I’m sorry,” Iruka muttered; his voice was barely audible. Kakashi cracked an eye open in surprise. This was pretty far from what he was expecting, not that he was complaining. He had no desire to have his ear drum abused if he could get away with it. “I must be squishing you.”

He felt Iruka quickly scramble off him and had to fight back a shiver as his body immediately missed the warmth that Iruka had taken with him. He slowly turned his head to his right and stared at the other boy. His eyes were wide as they looked throughout the room, stopping at any surface but Kakashi. His face was a very nice shade of red, one that caused Kakashi’s heart to beat just a little faster. This was pleasant, and Kakashi didn’t feel awkward at all, despite how obviously mortified Iruka was.

“It’s fine,” Kakashi assured him. “You’re not all that heavy, and you’re pretty warm and comfortable. No harm done at all.” He reluctantly pushed his blanket off him and gritted his teeth as the cold assaulted him. What he wouldn’t give to be able to dive back underneath the covers with Iruka again. “Let’s get you upstairs. I’d hate for you to get a sore back from sleeping on this couch for any longer.”

“It’s quite alright,” Iruka said hurriedly. “I can just head on home.”

Kakashi gave him a disbelieving look. Iruka’s house was one of the smallest in the neighborhood, which was fine, considering that he lived completely alone, and had been doing so since he was eleven. Ever since he’d moved out of the Child Care House, insisting that other children needed his space more than he needed it, there was always loneliness darkening his eyes. Kakashi tried his best to fight against it, but Iruka wasn’t in the business of accepting other people’s help.

“It’s still pretty early in the morning, and you live on the other side of the village” Kakashi reasoned. “The sun hasn’t even come out yet, and it won’t for quite a few hours. It’s going to be pretty cold out there. Just head on up to my room, and crash on my bed.” He didn’t have enough time to get Iruka any amenities for the guest room, so he would just have to use his own. That didn’t bother him in the least. As a matter of fact, he was quite pleased by the thought of Iruka sleeping in his bed, surrounded by his things.

Kakashi rolled his eyes at that teenaged hormone driven thought as he pulled Iruka to his feet. The boy refused to give up the blanket from the couch and brought it with him, draped over his shoulders and brushing against the old wooden floors. He placed his hand on Iruka’s back and led him out of the living room and into the small entryway. The staircase was placed there. He gave the younger boy a small push, and Iruka stumbled forward and made his way up the stairs at a sleepy, sedate pace.

_And you were going to go home like this?_ Kakashi thought to the other scornfully. His stomach churned at the thought of Iruka dazedly wondering down the street by himself. Yeah, he liked the majority of the townspeople enough, but he didn’t know them very well. There was no way that he would allow Iruka in all of his pure innocence to go out like this.

He really did have it bad…this was getting more and more pathetic every day. The minute that they entered his bedroom, Iruka made a beeline to his bed and collapsed on top of it, not moving. Kakashi smiled almost dryly at the sight. So much for a nice send off from his best friend. Hopefully his returning greeting would be better.

He grabbed the bag that he’d packed and pulled out a pair of pants and a shirt from his dresser next to his bed. He snatched his jacket off the chair that was nestled in the corner and walked out of the room and across the hall to the bathroom to get dressed.

When he opened the door and walked out, he flinched as he ran into another body. He moved to swing, as his mind immediately shifted to the thought of an infected moving around in his home. He faltered however, when the body stumbled back and rushed forward again, flinging their arms around his neck. He was being squeezed almost to the point of cutting off airflow, but there was nothing malicious about it or the face that was buried in his chest. He felt familiar long hairs brushing against his chin and smiled as he wrapped his arms around his assailant’s waist and returned the embrace.

“Remember your promise to me,” Iruka mumbled. “You be careful out there.”

“I will,” Kakashi assured him and let go of Iruka when he felt the other pull away from him. He couldn’t see Iruka’s face in the dim light, but he could make out his silhouette, which was good enough. His imagination provided the rest of his features in good enough quality. “Can you do me a favor, though? Can you check up on my dad while I’m gone and make sure that he’s going alright? Sometimes he’s so tired or so busy that he forgets to take care of himself.”

“Of course,” Iruka replied. Kakashi immediately felt a bit of relief wash over him at that. Hopefully with the two of them together, they’d be able to counteract a bit of the loneliness that would start settling in with him gone.

“Well,” Kakashi sighed. “I have to head out. You should get some more sleep before you have to start dealing with brats.” He moved to sidestep Iruka and head toward the stairs again. Before he could get more than half a step, he felt a hand latch onto his wrist. He froze and slowly turned toward Iruka. He’d turned and the candle that was sitting on a small, ornate table outside of his room, casted enough light on him for Kakashi to see his face.

His expression was a mixture of uncertainty, resolve, anxiety, and concern. It was a strange combination, and it confused Kakashi more than anything. He turned and face Iruka completely, glancing down for a moment to look at where their bodies were connected for a moment before he looked back up at the boy again. He inhaled deeply, kept the air in his lungs for a moment before he slowly exhaled.

“I have something that I want to tell you,” Iruka said. “It’s kind of important, and it’s a really big secret.”

Kakashi raised an inquisitive eyebrow at this. Iruka was rarely into gossip, and the fact that he was stopping Kakashi about it at a time like this meant that it was bound to be something interesting. “Oh?” he said curiously, “and what secret would that be?”

He saw Iruka’s lips curl into a small smile as he released Kakashi’s wrist and brought his hand up to his face, cupping his cheek gently. It was a tender gesture, one that cause Kakashi’s heart to contract almost painfully. “I’m just being a tease right now,” he murmured. “I’ll tell you when you come back.”

“Well,” Kakashi said as Iruka let his arm fall back to his side. “That’s a pretty good incentive to carry my sorry hide back here. I’m going to hold you to this secret. I want to know what it is as soon as I make it back into these gates, no matter what.”

Iruka’s smile grew at this and he nodded. “Sounds like a deal to me.”

Kakashi gave Iruka one last smile before he turned around and began walking toward the stairs. “Go on and get some sleep. I’ll be back before you know it.”

 

He arrived at Minato’s house within ten minutes of exiting his own. Kakashi saw a small crowd of people gathered on the porch of the home. They were speaking, but their voices were all too low for him to pick up much more than the quiet buzz of the voices. Kakashi immediately recognized that it was damn near everyone of the newcomers along with Izuna. He supposed that they were all seeing Minato off.

Kakashi walked up the steps of the porch and leaned against the nearest columns as he took in the nearly uniform expressions of concern that they all seemed to have on their faces. “What’s wrong?” he finally asked.

Izuna, who was standing the closest to him with his back facing Kakashi, physically jumped before he spun around. His face was set into a scowl for a few moments, glaring at his junior for the scare, but the expression didn’t stay like that long before his face quickly morphed back to one of uncertainty. He sighed and reached out, ruffling Kakashi’s hair with his nearest hand. Aggravated, Kakashi batted the appendage away and took a step to the side in order to get a bit more distance between them. It was as if Izuna took up the title as the Most-Annoying-Older-Brother-Figure when Madara wasn’t there.

The reason for their concern hit Kakashi like a sledgehammer a moment before Izuna spoke up. “Madara and Tobirama are not back from their run yet. They were due last night with the supplies. It was a quick and easy run that shouldn’t have taken long, especially with only two people.”

Kakashi put a tentative hand on Izuna’s shoulder and offered him a weak smile. “Complications happen all the time. I may not know Tobirama all that well, but I’m sure that he’s capable, and I know that Madara is. I’m sure that they probably just ran into a couple of Infected and had to stop for a little while to take care of them. It was raining just a little while ago, so they probably figured that it was safer to wait until daybreak to drive. They’re probably safe and sound, holed up in a house somewhere, waiting for the sun to rise.”

There was silence in the group for a few minutes before Jiraiya let out a loud laugh that echoed into the darkness. “Look at all of us, worrying ourselves into a mess. The kid has more sense than the rest of us put together.” Kakashi looked over at the white-haired man and saw that he was grinning at him. He looked away from him after a moment and turned to stare at Minato. “I like this one, kid. Make sure to watch out for him. Same goes for Izuna. They both seem like good kids.”

“No offence, Jiraiya,” Minato said with a smile that was just as bright at Jiraiya’s was, “but I’m pretty sure that Izuna is older than me. I’m sure that we’re going to watch each other’s backs, and all come back safe.” He turned that smile on Kakashi and closed his eyes for a moment, positively beaming at him.

Kakashi weakly smiled back, uncomfortable with the open friendliness that the man was exuding. He was so focused on Minato that he didn’t see anyone coming at him from behind. He felt strong arms wrap around him and he was spun around and snatched into a broad chest. He yelped, and struggled to pull back, but it was no use.

“Thank you for those words, Kakashi!” a tearful voice practically wailed. “You’re such a nice boy. I’ll be sure to let Madara know that you were rooting him on this entire time as soon as he gets back!”

“Oh, god,” Kakashi groaned, “please don’t tell him that. I’ll never live it down.” He struggled to get out of the man’s iron grip, and it took him a good minute to manage it. He saw Hashirama’s face with a larger smile beaming at him that Minato’s and Jiraiya’s combined. These people were just too happy, and it was creepy.

 

 

Tobirama’s eyes snapped open at the sound of banging. He was leaning against the couch with a blanket thrown over him. It wasn’t the most comfortable place to fall asleep, and he honestly couldn’t remember passing out. His entire body was aching, but he figured that it wasn’t due to the way that he was sleeping so much as it was due to the injuries that he had sustained the day before. Sure, he was young and would bounce back quickly, but it certainly wasn’t as quick as it was when he was sixteen.

He grimaced at the thought of how sore he was going to be for the next couple of weeks as he slowly got to his feet and he slowly looked around. The Uchiha was nowhere to be seen, and Tobirama idly wondered where he was. His head wasn’t completely clear yet, and it made him wonder if he had lost too much blood the night before.

“Senju!” Madara’s voice hit his ears sharply and cut through a lot of the haze in his mind. He perked up immediately, wincing as his muscles ached savagely at him. Pushing through the pain, he walked forward briskly, moving to where he heard Madara. His voice was coming from past the kitchen. He walked through the small hallway that was there and into the laundry room. Madara was standing at the door, his back to the wood as he tried his best to hold it in place.

The banging noise that had so rudely woken him up came back in full force. The man’s eyes were widened as the door shook. His hands came out at his sides as he fought to maintain his balance and press even harder against the wooden barrier.

Tobirama didn’t bother speaking, he just moved toward the washing machine that was against the wall, opposite to the door and wrapped his fingers around the corner of the metal machine and wrenched it from the wall. It was an old model, and because of that it was extremely heavy, which was exactly what he was hoping for.

The machine only moved about six inches from the wall, but it was enough for him to get better purchase. “Hurry!” Madara snarled at him as the shaking from the door got even worse. Madara might have been a heavy guy thanks to his build, but he was no match for two or three infected savagely trying to rip their way through the door.

Tobirama didn’t bother responding, figuring that it would be wasting precious time anyway. He leaned down a bit and stuck his arms behind the washer as far as they would go and pushed the machine away from the wall as hard as he could. The hair-raising noise of metal protesting against the floor filled the room, drowning out the infected’s banging for a moment as it echoed throughout the small space. The washing machine was halfway across the hallway, and there was plenty of room for Tobirama to dive behind it. He braced himself against it and pushed again. The god-awful squealing that it made as he pushed it forward was causing his eardrums to throb, but he ignored the discomfort rather easily, thanks to the looming threat that was just behind Madara.

The washing machine was in the perfect position just as the banging on the door got even worse. Madara’s face was pinched tight in concentration as the door bounced behind him, nearly causing him to pitch forward. The strength of the man’s legs alone was what was letting him stay rooted to the spot.

“Move!” Tobirama snapped at the Uchiha.

Madara didn’t even cast him a questioning glance. He simply dove to the side at the same time that Tobirama leaned back slightly and placed the flat of his foot on the back of the washer. He pushed on it with every last bit of his strength, and it flung itself forward. It slid a couple of inches, before it tipped over, landing straight in front of the door and sliding until it had crashed into the wood.

The thumps were still overbearingly loud, but the door wasn’t shuddering as much. He could hear Madara’s heavy breathing over the loud noise and turned to look down at the man. He was sprawled out on the floor, panting as he looked up at the ceiling. His feet were millimeters from the washer, and Tobirama knew with certainty that if Madara had been half a second later to jump, or if Tobirama had kicked the washer half a second sooner, Madara would have been caught underneath the large hunk of metal, and they’d both be dead.

Tobirama didn’t like narrow brushes with death. While some people saw them as exhilarating and lived for the adrenaline, he always felt jumpy and agitated in the aftermath. His brain always focused on the small details of the plan that had gone as predicted and agonized over what would have happened if they would have gone awry.

“I am so fucking ready to go home,” Madara panted after a few moments. “That was too close.”

“Agreed,” Tobirama replied wholeheartedly. “At this point, I think I’d almost be happy to endure one of my idiot brother’s bearhugs.”

“Hashirama’s not so bad,” Madara replied. His breathing had returned to normal, but he hadn’t moved. Tobirama backed up to the wall across from the door, where the washer had once been and slid down until he was crouched on the floor.

Tobirama managed a weak smile at the submission. It was too late now. If Madara had already accepted Hashirama as an okay person, his brother would be able to sense it. The buffoon would leech onto that idea and worm his way into Madara’s heart. He probably wouldn’t stop until he and Madara were the best of friends. No amount of protests or general bitchiness on Madara’s part would put a stop to it.

“I’m glad that you woke up,” Madara said after a few moments of silence. “I thought that I was a goner for sure. There’s about five of the infected out back. All of them seem to be larger males. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t pack for a fight this large when I got ready yesterday.”

“I didn’t,” Tobirama agreed. “We might have to do something similar to yesterday.”

“You mean play bait?” Madara questioned.

“Yeah,” Tobirama replied. He leaned forward a bit, stretching out the aching muscles in his back. He winced at the feeling of his cut pulling. He was in better shape than Madara. He would be the one to do the running again. There was no other way that he could think of.

“Don’t be stupid, Senju,” Madara said. His voice changed from light and airy to sharp and heavy as steel instantly. Tobirama looked down at him and saw that the older man had his head turned in his direction, glaring harshly at him. “It’s much too dangerous. We can figure something else out.”

“It’s not that dangerous,” Tobirama argued. “I know what I’m doing, Uchiha, and I don’t need you to coddle me.”

“You starting to sound like Kakashi,” Madara grumbled. “Quit being so damn quick to stick your neck out. I doubt you have a death-wish, so start acting like you don’t.”

Tobirama was silent as he looked away from Madara. He wanted to scream and smack the hell out of the man. Tobirama could tell from the gruff way that he spoke that he wasn’t making an effort with what was coming out of his mouth. He wasn’t _trying_ to be nice or to act as though he cared about Tobirama at all. None of this was an act in an effort to do his job and bring Tobirama back safely. This was just his personality.

It made it that much harder to find something to snap back at him with that didn’t sound completely stupid. He ground his teeth together for a moment before he admitted to himself that he was just acting like a petulant child that didn’t get his way. He just leaned further back into the wall as he relaxed a little, resigning himself to whatever insane plan Madara was bound to cook up.

“Fine,” he eventually said. “It sounds like you have a better plan then. What do you suggest?”

“I don’t know a lot about the situation yet,” Madara admitted. “We need to get a better idea of everything surrounding the house. I woke up to the back door rattling with one of the infected trying to get in. I haven’t looked anywhere else yet.”

“Well, then,” Tobirama said, pushing himself to his feet. He walked over to Madara and offered him a hand. The other grabbed onto it and allowed Tobirama to help him to his feet. “I guess we should take a look around and then we can make a decision.”

Tobirama led the way out of the laundry room and into the kitchen. He immediately walked over to the window that was standing over the sink and closed his eyes in resignation at what he saw. Well over a dozen of the infected were milling around the truck in addition to the five or six that were lined up at the back door of the house. He saw a few stragglers stumbling into the back yard from the side. That was all he was able to see, however. The view from the kitchen window wasn’t the best.

Madara had gone past him into the front room while Tobirama had stopped at the kitchen. He heard the other man’s quiet footsteps and looked away from the horrible sight to see the other man grimacing from across the room. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes were darting from side to side, a universal sign of being deep in thought.

After a moment, the Uchiha spoke up, encompassing their entire situation into two very accurate words.

“We’re fucked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoyed it. I apologize for the slow updates, I wish that I could get them out faster.


	10. Chapter 10

Kakashi was more curious about Minato than anything. The man had an extremely cheerful disposition. He had figured that Minato’s smile would dim down once they got on the road, but he remained happy, even while he was behind the wheel of the jeep that they had taken, driving toward their destination a few hours later. The sun had risen a while ago and Izuna, like the expert navigator that he was, had passed out in the passenger’s seat. Kakashi had taken the map from him and was looking down at it curiously.

“You and Iruka seem to be really good friends,” Minato said conversationally, taking them out of the long silence that they had settled into almost as soon as they had hit the road. “Have you guys known each other for a while?”

“Yeah,” Kakashi said. “He’s been here for almost as long as me.”

“He seems really nice,” Minato told him. “He’s got a big heart. I can tell that, and I’ve only seen him a couple of times. It makes me really happy to know that there are still people like that around. I was figuring that if they were, they would be over-the-top like Hashirama is.”

Kakashi snorted at that and asked, “Is he always like that?”

“I’m afraid so,” Minato answered. “It’s a bit off-putting, but you tend to get used to it after a little while. He’s really good a lifting people’s moods when they’re upset. He was the first person to get excited when Kushina told us that she was pregnant and proclaimed that he was more than ready to be an uncle.”

“That seems to be a large contrast from his brother,” Kakashi observed, looking back down at the map. “You’re supposed to take a right at the next road.”

“Tobirama is actually a very nice person,” Minato told him. “He’s blunt, surly, and can be a bit grouchy at times, but don’t let that fool you. He’s very caring and very protective of the people that he cares about. He’s just been through quite a bit since the start of the epidemic and it’s left a lasting mark on his body and in his mind. I doubt that he’ll ever really get over it. Don’t worry, though. In time, I’m certain that he’ll warm up to the community and you’ll be able to see another side of him. He’s actually a lot more overbearing than Hashirama, just in a subtler way.”

“You’ll have to forgive me for not really seeing it,” Kakashi told him. “I’ve only briefly seen him, and in that short time, he had very thoroughly insulted Madara.”

Minato actually laughed at that as he slowed the jeep down and took the right that Kakashi had told him about. “Yes, Tobirama and Madara didn’t seem to get off on the right foot. If it’s any condolences, I believe that Madara has insulted him just as much.”

“I’m not about to be upset for Madara's sake. Knowing him, he’s probably done something to deserve Tobirama’s anger,” Kakashi informed him. “He loves poking and prodding people to find their aggravations. He does it like it’s a sport, and he’s very good at it. Sadly, I doubt that he’s going to stop it, so Tobirama is going to have to either get used to it or continue to hate him for as long as they’re both still in the colony.”

“I’m sure that they’ll eventually see eye-to-eye,” Minato told him. “After a few runs together, it’s impossible not to feel a connection with someone. There’s a special bond that forms after you truly trust someone to watch your back and know that they fully trust you to have theirs.” Kakashi saw that Minato was looking at him through the rear-view mirror as he said, “I hope that you and I are able to develop that bond, Kakashi. I think that you would be a very great companion to have.”

Kakashi didn’t know how to properly respond to that. It was a very nice thing to say, and a very obvious offer at friendship. “We have to get through this alive first,” he finally said. “If you’re as good as I think that you are, then I’m sure that we’ll have time for it.”

Kakashi might not have been able to see Minato’s mouth, but he could tell from the way that his cheeks started to stick out that he was smiling. Kakashi immediately looked away at Minato, staring out the window. The view wasn’t much of anything other than bare trees, but he pretended to be interested in it. Minato wasn’t really being pushy per say, but the openness was making him uncomfortable.

 

Izuna didn’t wake up until they were nearly there. The younger Uchiha didn’t say anything until Minato pulled into the small town of Suna. “You can stop here,” Izuna said. “It’s been a while since we’ve scouted this area, and I’d rather we go further on foot so that we won’t raise very much attention.”

“Sounds understandable,” Minato said. He pulled off the middle of the road and parked on the grass. The jeep was beat up and rusted. It wouldn’t stick out at all. Kakashi got out of the car and grabbed his knives of choice from the backseat. He stowed them in a small pack that was wrapped against his leg and quickly shut the door.

The other two were already out and waiting at the front of the jeep. Izuna smirked at him as he walked around. “You’re awfully slow this afternoon. Maybe you’re too out of shape for this.”

“I doubt that’s the case, Uchiha,” Kakashi replied dryly. “I just didn’t get any beauty sleep this morning, unlike you. I think you might be getting too old for these runs.”

Kakashi heard Minato stifle a snort. Izuna looked like he wanted to be mad, but there was still a smile on his face as he reached out and ruffled Kakashi’s hair affectionately.

“As snappy as ever, I see,” Izuna said fondly. His smile quickly disappeared, and his expression turned serious. Kakashi could tell that he was still looking at him with care, but it was the tough-love kind of caring. It was more annoying than endearing. “Listen to me, Kakashi,” Izuna said in his _I’m-older-than-you-and-I-know-more-so-you’d-do-well-to-take-heed_ voice. “The last time that you were out, something mentally scarring happened to you, and everyone at the compound is worried. The only reason that you’re out here so soon is because Sarutobi thinks that it might be good for you. I’m not sure if that’s the case or not, but I am sure that it’s a risky move that the old man’s pulling. You lost two of your friends, and they weren’t much older than you. I don’t want you to do something that’s going to put you into danger.”

Kakashi looked at Izuna blankly, completely unimpressed. “I’m not mentally unstable, if that’s what you’re implying. I can handle myself just fine, and I’m not about to jump into a horde of monsters in some stupid attempt on my life from survivor’s guilt. They died, and that sucks, but I’m still alive, and I plan on staying that way.”

Izuna shut his eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh before he turned away from him and looked out, past the car, obviously trying to gather patience.

“Kakashi,” Minato said, his voice barely above a whisper. “You can’t actually mean that.”

“He doesn’t mean it,” Izuna cut in before Kakashi could confirm that he did. “Losing Obito and Rin hurt him a lot, he just doesn’t want to admit it. He hasn’t faced their loss yet, and I’m not sure when he will. He might be a jerk, but he’s not that much of an asshole, I promise you.”

“Death is a normal occurrence, Uchiha,” Kakashi informed him coldly. “Why don’t you quit acting as though I should treat it any other way. I’m not some stupid kid that you need to teach empathy. Let’s just go ahead and get this done.” He stalked off, knowing that Minato and Izuna would follow him.

“Why are you such a damn brat, Hatake!” Izuna snapped from behind him.

“Because I can be,” Kakashi said airily.

 

 

Madara walked away from the window tiredly and put his face into his hands. His head was throbbing, and he felt his blood pressure skyrocketing. His mind was racing as he thought about the different options that he and Tobirama had. There weren’t many with that many creatures milling around the house, and all of them were stupid beyond all reasonable doubt. Almost thirty zombies were milling around the yard, with more of them at the back than the front. The majority of them were at the truck, which was their entire destination.

“Come on,” Tobirama said curtly. Madara watched as he rushed into the sitting room. Madara followed him and saw that he was going up the stairs. Madara ascended them as well and moved to the bedroom that Tobirama rushed into. “What are you planning?” Madara snapped at him.

“The majority of the undead are in the front yard,” Tobirama said. “I can tell from here that there aren’t any in the streets, at least not nearby. Tobirama opened the window and stuck his head out. Without thinking, Madara rushed forward and grabbed him by the back, yanking him back inside.

“Are you crazy!?” Madara thundered, “Our situation is not nearly desperate enough for a suicide attempt!”

“I’m not trying to jump, idiot,” Tobirama said, turning around so that he was looking at Madara again. “Don’t joke around about things like that.”

“That’s not a joke,” Madara informed him. “You’re insane, you know that? I’m never sure of what you’re about to do.”

“I actually have a plan,” Tobirama told him dryly, clearly unimpressed. “I wouldn’t have come up here if I didn’t.”

“Alright,” Madara allowed, “then what is it?”

“They’re attracted by noise,” Tobirama said simply. “Objects falling from up high make a loud noise when they fall to the ground. If we drop them into the front yard, the zombies from the back will come to the front.”

Madara couldn’t deny how impressed he was. It was such a simple plan, and Tobirama had come up with it almost immediately in such a high-pressure situation. It was really amazing. “Alright,” Madara said. “Let’s do it.”

He turned around and grabbed the closest thing to him. It was a lamp that was sitting on a bedside table. It was small with a glass shade. Perfect. Madara separated the shade from the lamp, both of them were a generous weight. He stuck his upper body out of the window and brought his arm back, aiming for one of the undead that was milling around outside. It wouldn’t hurt to take a few of them down while they were at it. Their lives would inevitably become easier because of it.

The shade went first. It didn’t quite hit the mark that he had been aiming for. It fell a bit short of a rather fat zombie that was milling around in the middle of the yard. He should have known that he wasn’t going to make it. His shoulder was still sore from the wound, no matter if it was bandaged or not. He supposed that it was the thought that counted anyway.

On impact, the glass shattered, and the noise was unpleasantly high-pitched. The dead silence made it so much worse…or better, really. It echoed and carried really far. Madara had no doubts that the zombies around back heard it just as well as the ones up the street if they were there. He got a good right-handed grip on the lamp and chucked it out there as well. That toss was more painful on his shoulder than the first thing that he threw. He hissed as he ducked back inside.

“Quit straining yourself so much, fool,” Tobirama said to him pointedly before he walked forward. Pictures were in his hand as he ducked outside as well. The sound of shattering glass on concrete met his ears a few moments later.

“It’s working,” Tobirama called back to him as Madara saw his form jerk. A moment later, he heard more glass shattering. “I see a couple of them walking from around back!”

Madara looked around the room for more things to throw and was coming up empty. There were only so many things in the setup and it looked as though they had quickly worn out their supply.

“It’s alright,” Tobirama said. “Enough of them will go to the front. This is the only chance that we’re going to have to get out of here.”

Madara didn’t need any more of an incentive to move. He raced downstairs, right on Tobirama’s heels. He cut a sharp right into the living room and dashed into the kitchen, skidding to a stop at the window that sat above the sink. He nearly stuck his face to the glass as he looked outside. The zombies were moving to the side, near a gaping hole in the fence. It must have been how Tobirama got the truck in the back, where it had been hidden. It would also have to be the way that they got out of the yard too.

“We’re going to have to wait if we don’t want to ruin the truck on bodies,” Madara said just before he felt a hand at the back of his shirt as he was snatched backward.

“I know,” Tobirama said, walking toward the living room. Madara looked at him and realized, for the first time that morning, Tobirama’s state of undress. He was still walking around in his boxers. “It means that I have enough time to get dressed. While I’m at it, quit pressing your face to the glass. You might attract some unwanted attention.”

Madara looked away from the pale expanse of skin and turned back to the window. “They’re not all going to go around,” Madara said. “The ones near the back door are gone except for one, and there are still four around the truck, not moving. We’re going to have to fight to get to the truck.”

“I figured that,” Tobirama said. “It’s just easier than over a dozen in our way. Even wounded, I think we can take on that many.”

Madara turned around without thinking and saw him buttoning his pants. Tobirama grabbed his shirt off the couch and just looked at it, as though contemplating what to do with it. Madara rolled his eyes and pushed himself away from the countertop and strolled back into the living room. He grabbed the shirt from Tobirama, who looked at him demandingly.

“Put your arms out,” Madara told him. When Tobirama didn’t move, Madara sighed exhaustedly. “For the love of god, just cooperate! I’m ready to get out of here, and I’m trying to speed along the process.”

Tobirama narrowed his eyes at him but held his arms up all the same. Madara wanted to say something smart in return, but he decided against it. That would just cause more time to be wasted, and he really was in a hurry to get out of this damned house.

He carefully slid the shirt up both of Tobirama’s arms and over his head when the other man brought his head down. He pulled it over Tobirama’s shoulders and down his waist. When he was finished, Tobirama looked at him uncertainly. Madara knew it was because he’d been so gentle. It was getting tiring. He didn’t like being an asshole for no reason, and that seemed to be all that Tobirama would accept from him.

 “Okay,” Madara said quietly, pushing past that moment of awkwardness. “Let’s get out of here.”

He grabbed his jacket and knives from the small pile on the floor and walked toward the back door as he slid on his coat. He slid two of his knives into his pockets and firmly grabbed the other two in his hands. He grabbed the washer and lifted it, getting it back straight. He grabbed the door handle and turned around to look at Tobirama demandingly. The other man was only a few steps away, completely dressed and looking as ready as ever. He nodded to himself and opened the door, stepping out into the patio at the back.

The zombie that was standing at the door immediately lunged at him, but Madara was ready for him. He stepped out of his range, and brought his knife up, jamming it in the back of the dead man’s neck, severing its spinal cord.

“Come on!” Madara hissed at him.

“Get to the passenger’s side,” Tobirama commanded. “I have the keys.”

Madara didn’t reply as he ran toward the truck. The next infected was coming at him. Madara grabbed her wrist and slung her behind him, being sure to flip her to the ground. Tobirama moved before Madara could and grabbed her head, twisting it harshly, snapping her neck.

They moved fluidly like this the rest of the way to the truck, systematically annihilating the other three zombies as silently as they could. Tobirama rushed into the driver’s seat and Madara dashed to the other side of the truck and dove into the other seat. Tobirama started the truck, put it into drive, and hit the gas, spinning tires before shooting off toward the road. They made it to the street before any of the zombies so much as looked their way. Madara saw that the ones in the yard started moving toward them, but it wasn’t long before they were specs then simply out of sight.

When they got out of the town, Tobirama took a right instead of a left.

“Where the hell are you going?” Madara demanded angrily. “Konoha’s in the other direction!”

“I’m aware,” Tobirama told him curtly. “I’m also aware that there’s a good chance that those freaks are still around. If you’d use your brain every once in a while, you might realize that heading directly toward the town would be incredibly stupid. I’d rather take a detour and go the long way if it means that we can throw them off our trail.”

Madara scowled at him, but he had no arguments or than possibly saying that he was too smart. That sounded more like a compliment than a complaint, so he just kept that to himself. “Whatever,” he finally grumbled as more of a deadpan than anything else. “Just get us home as fast as you can.”

Tobirama didn’t say anything, but Madara could feel the truck speeding up even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to make it clear that no, I do not think that the idea of suicide is stupid or dumb. It's definitely nothing to blow off like Kakashi did in this chapter. He's just an angry teenager that is trying to scorn an adult that is looking out for him. I doubt that Kakashi sees it as something to mock either.
> 
> On another note...I'm back with this! I know it's been ages, and there's no excuse for it, but I finally got back to looking it over and decided to pick it back up. Let me know what you think! Is there anything that you'd like to see next? How do you think Kakashi's run is going to go? Do you think that Madara and Tobirama are going to be able to get back to the colony without another problem?


	11. Chapter 11

Iruka yawned loudly as he opened his eyes blearily. He hadn’t woken up as early as he normally did; he could feel it in his body’s internal clock that it was probably nearing ten o’clock in the morning. He stretched and pushed the blanket off his body, rolling off the bed and to his feet. He looked around Kakashi’s room, confused for a few moments as to why he was there and not in his own house. Then he remembered that Kakashi had left to go on his run and had convinced him to go up to his room to sleep much earlier that morning.

He slowly walked out of the room and into the hallway. The sun was raised up, lighting his pathway down the stairs. He heard movement around the house as he made it to the landing of the ground floor. He walked toward the sound and saw that it came from the kitchen of the home. It was useless as far as food went, but it was nice to have for storage.

Sakumo Hatake was standing in the middle of the kitchen, behind the island, opening a small sack. Iruka saw him pull out two clumps of bread. Without looking up, the older man said, “Have some breakfast, Iruka.”

It was moments like this that reminded Iruka that Sakumo was a very skilled and dangerous man, who didn’t let anything slip past his notice. Kakashi was a lot like him, just more intense. It probably had a lot to do with their ages. He wondered if Kakashi would be mellow and laid back like Sakumo was when he got older.

Sakumo finally looked up and directly at Iruka, a small smile twitching on his lips. “It’s quite alright, Iruka. I promise I won’t bit you.”

“I know that,” he said quickly, smiling in return. “You’re very kind to me.”

“You’re very kind to Kakashi,” Sakumo informed him lightly as Iruka walked into the kitchen, up to the island, and grabbed the proffered piece of bread. “You’re a really good kid, and I like good kids. I think that you’re good to him, so I have no reason not to be kind to you. I appreciate how you look after him. He might not act like he sees it, but I know that he appreciates it too.”

Iruka felt his cheeks heat up from the blatant praise, and he looked away, embarrassed. “He’s a good person,” Iruka mumbled, “even if he acts like he’s not. He needs to have someone to watch his back when he’s here. I know that you’re busy with the town, and that you try your best, but I try to be there when you can’t be.”

“You need someone too,” Sakumo pointed out softly. “I feel bad for you with your situation. You need someone that you can go to when you’re down and when you have problems. Even in a world like this, people shouldn’t be alone. Perhaps, it is better to say that _especially_ in this world, people shouldn’t be alone.”

“I’m not alone,” Iruka said. “I have the entire village, and they are all very kind to me.”

“That’s not the same, and you know it,” Sakumo retorted kindly. “I would very much like to be someone that you feel that you can go to. I know that Kakashi would like to be that person too. You’re so invested in others, but have you taken a moment lately to look at yourself and see how you’re doing?”

Iruka wanted to inform Sakumo that he was just fine, but he honestly didn’t know if that was the case or not. Had it really been that long since he had taken some time to think solely about himself?

“I haven’t,” Iruka allowed, “but I don’t feel as though anything is _wrong_ with me.”

Sakumo smiled as he bit into the bread. Iruka followed suit and had to grimace at how hard it was. It was better than not eating, however, so he just dealt with it in silence. “You’re allowed to ask for more than that. Just ask for what makes you happy.” Sakumo informed him. “Everyone else does.”

Iruka looked away from Sakumo, feeling foolish as he admitted, “I don’t know how to ask for that. I don’t know what makes me happy.”

Sakumo walked around the island and began walking toward the living room. “No one can tell you that, son. You’ll have to figure it out by yourself.” He turned around and smiled at him like he knew something that Iruka didn’t

Iruka wanted to say something back to him, but he didn’t know _what_ to say. He felt as though there wasn’t really anything to say to him. Sakumo didn’t seem to mind, however.

He simply walked out of the room and over to the couch, sitting down on it with his small block of bread in hand. “Why don’t you stay over here for a while? I can get a guest room set up for you if you’d like. I’m just a lonely old man, after all. I wouldn’t mind some company now that Kakashi’s out for the next week or so.”

Iruka smiled and found himself nodding. “I’d like that,” he said. “Thank you, Mr. Hatake.”

“Just call me Sakumo, son. Everyone else does. Come on and sit down. We can get a room set up for you after we eat and before we have to go out for the day.”

 

Iruka walked down the road from Kakashi’s home and headed toward the newcomer’s house. He had agreed to show Kushina around the child care center of the town in more detail that day. She had seemed excited about it, so he figured that he would get there early and let her stay there for as long as she wanted. Minato had just left out on a run, after all, and he would be gone for over a week, just like Kakashi. It would probably be upsetting for her, especially in her condition. So, he would do whatever he could to keep her spirits up.

He walked down the pathway, and up the first two stairs. He froze as the door flew open and two men raced out, obviously panicked. Hashirama was the first one out. He flew down the stairs, apparently not noticing Iruka at all Iruka could see what was about to happen, but there wasn’t enough time to prevent it, so he just watched in horror as the older man steadily came closer and close.

 Hashirama crashed into him, and they both went soaring backward, onto the pathway that he had just come off. Iruka grunted as the air left his body. Hashirama had landed directly on top of him, and he was not a light man. His body was composed of nothing but muscle, and Iruka could tell. He was being crushed. He winced, praying that the pain in his chest wasn’t a broken rib.

“He can’t breathe, Hashirama! Get off him!”

Iruka felt the overwhelming weight come off him and he was able to breathe and see again. Hashirama was standing up, the collar of his jacket was scrunched into Jiraiya’s large fist. “I’m sorry!” Hashirama cried, reaching out his hand and grabbing one of Iruka’s from the ground, and snatching him to his feet. “I’ll make it up to you the next time that I see you. Kushina’s in labor, though! I have to go and tell someone!”

Before Jiraiya could stop him, Hashirama was gone. Iruka looked up and saw that Jiraiya was pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly. “Kushina’s in labor?” Iruka asked worriedly. “Is everything alright? Is she alright?”

“She’s fine, just in pain,” Jiraiya assured him. “I was trying to stop Hashirama from dashing out of the house like he just did.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his head before he turned around and walked back toward the house. “Too late now, I suppose. He and Tsunade are the only two that have any inclination toward medicine. Thankfully, Tsunade had the sense to stay where she was with a cool head. She could have used Hashirama’s help, however.”

“Maybe he might bring someone back that’s not as antsy,” Iruka offered. Hashirama was very excitable. He had only met the newcomer a few times, and it wasn’t hard to tell in that short amount of time.

“We can only pray,” Jiraiya said dryly. “Come on, then. Is there something that you wanted?”

“I was actually here for Kushina,” Iruka admitted sheepishly. “Guess it’s too late now.”

“Well,” Jiraiya said, “You’re welcome to come inside…that’s if the thought of being in labor doesn’t disturb you too much.”

Iruka really didn’t want to be around a woman in labor, but he felt as though his pride was at stake. He straightened his spine and tried to ward off the dread that was consuming him. He nodded his head, attempting to sound casual as he said, “That’s fine. I don’t mind at all.”

Jiraiya’s mouth curled up in one corner as though he was amused. He nodded his head and turned toward the house, motioning for Iruka to come with him. Iruka followed behind and had to fight back the urge to turn around and run away as soon as Jiraiya opened the front door.

“Where the fuck is Minato?!” Kushina’s wails came from somewhere within the house. She sounded terrifying, and Iruka could practically taste her killing intent. “Why the hell isn’t he here!? I’m going to cut his fucking head from his shoulders!”

 

 

Kakashi jumped backward from the outstretched hand of an infected and stepped to the side, being careful to keep out of reach. The house was small, seeming to be more of a cottage than anything else. He had been chosen to look through it for any supplies. He had felt put out at first. He had been given the smallest house, because he was the youngest, and Minato and Izuna had both agreed on making sure that he was out of danger the most…meaning that they were going to put themselves in more danger because of it.

The joke was on them, Kakashi supposed. There had been three infected in the small space, and they had all pushed Kakashi to his limits. He had come close to death a few times, but he had managed to pull through. The thought of how devastated his father and Iruka would be was what pushed him to work so hard to dodge the deadly strikes.

Absently, he knew that the will to live should have been what pushed him forward, but that wasn’t the case.

He dispatched the last of the undead family. Once the husband fell, he sighed and just stood in the middle of the kitchen, looking around without actually seeing anything. He felt sadness clawing at his chest. It was nearly unbearable and the pain from it had him fighting back the urge to drop to his knees.

“Obito,” he mumbled, looking down at the floor. Obito Uchiha, Izuna and Madara's younger cousin, had been one of his friends to die on his last run. He had been a funny guy with a great moral compass. He did good things just for the sake of doing them. He helped so many people at the colony, and the old people adored him. He should still be alive doing good things for others. Instead, he was dead. There hadn’t even been a body to bury.

“Rin,” he whispered. She had been one of the sweetest people that Kakashi had ever met. So well-tempered and kind. Obito had adored her, and she had liked him as well. They had never had a chance to explore those feelings, however, because both of their lives had been cut too short. She’d died not an hour after Obito, leaving Kakashi by himself.

He mentally slapped himself, getting angry at himself for becoming do distracted. “Focus on what’s at hand,” he snapped at himself. “I’m not going to become deadweight, and I’m not going to let dad or Iruka down. I just need to do my job.”

At that thought, he pushed himself forward and began sifting through the kitchen cabinets, hoping for something good.

“Kakashi,” Minato’s soft voice reached his ears. Kakashi turned around and looked over at the other. Minato was standing where the kitchen and living room met. There was a bloodied knife in his hand and a few specs of dirt and some more blood on his face, whether it was Minato’s blood or one of the infected, Kakashi didn’t know.

“What’s up?” Kakashi asked, he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m in a bit of a bind, actually,” Minato said. He laughed sheepishly. “There’s something in the house that I’m at, and I can’t move the dresser that’s against the door myself. You think that you could help me out?”

Kakashi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Minato wasn’t weak, Kakashi could tell that by just looking at him. It was a bit sketchy since he didn’t know the blond all that well, but he supposed that he would never get to know him if he continued to distrust him. “Fine,” he said wearily. With any luck, this wouldn’t be a time where Minato was going to lure him out somewhere and murder him.

_If he wanted to kill me,_ Kakashi reasoned, _he could have done it a few minutes ago instead of getting my attention._

 

He followed Minato across the street to the larger house that he had claimed for himself. He saw a couple of bodies strewn across the lawn. He ignored them as they walked up the stairs. The house opened into a tiny, closed-off entryway. There were three doors that spread out from it and Minato took him straight ahead. The door opened into a large living room, and two more bodies were on the ground. Blood was pooling around their bodies, but there was no more blood anywhere else that Kakashi could see. That meant that the battle was short-lived. Minato was so efficient that it was pretty scary.

“What is it?” Minato asked.

Kakashi realized that he had just stopped, for what appeared to be no reason at all, and just started looking around the room. He shook himself out of his musings and stepped forward. “Nothing,” he muttered.

Minato took that at face value and just nodded. He turned around and walked out of the room. Kakashi followed him. They moved down a long hallway and Minato called out, “He’s here!”

Kakashi immediately froze, wondering if this really was some sort of trap. Had they finally allowed some psychos to enter their town?

Minato seemed to realize where his unease was coming from, because he turned around and smiled placatingly at him. “It’s just Izuna. There isn’t a dresser to move, but I did find something. Why don’t you go and see what it is?”

“Where is it?” Kakashi asked distrustfully.

“Calm down, Kakashi,” Izuna’s voice commanded. “Just get in here and look already!”

Kakashi sighed and followed Izuna’s voice and moved toward the opened doorway on the left side of the hall. He found Izuna in a small bedroom, sitting on the bed with something small, wrinkly and furry in his lap.

“Is that a dog?” Kakashi asked Izuna blankly.

 

 

The truck had been driving for what felt like years. Tobirama was about sick of being behind the wheel of the vehicle. He was still tense from the escape and felt jumpy with nerves. What if those psychos were still following them? What were they supposed to do if it caused another confrontation?

Both he and Madara were in rough shape, and he figured that no matter the damage that he and Madara had dealt to them the day before, it still wouldn’t be enough. They had numbers on their side, and Tobirama knew that they wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of that obvious foot-up that they had.

“Will you calm down,” Madara groaned from beside him. “You’re starting to make me paranoid, Senju. What’s with you?”

“You shouldn’t be so relaxed anyway,” Tobirama snapped at him. “Are you stupid, or something? If they’re still following us, then it could spell out some bad things for the colony, fool.”

“I’m not paranoid, because if they knew where we were, they would have killed us last night when we were the most vulnerable,” Madara reasoned.

“Unless they’re following us hoping for a more substantial treasure source than just a truckload of supplies,” Tobirama informed him. “It’s not really all that hard to gather that we’re from somewhere that we’re planning on staying. If that’s the case, we would have supplies, and probably a safe spot to stay out of the way of the infected.”

“You’re overthinking everything,” Madara assured Tobirama. His careless voice was steadily eating away on his last nerve. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“There’s plenty to worry about,” Tobirama insisted.

“Calm down and breathe for a moment, Senju,” Madara commanded. His voice was firm and authoritative.

Tobirama immediately bristled at the tone, and slammed his foot on the breaks, slinging them to a jarring stop. If it wasn’t for the seatbelt, Tobirama was certain that Madara would have faceplanted the windshield. Judging from the expression on the other man’s face, he knew that too. Madara's surprised visage only lasted for a few humorous seconds before it shifted into a scowl.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Madara demanded. “Do you _want_ me to kick your ass?”

“Just try it,” Tobirama invited. “I’ll destroy you.”

Madara unbuckled the seatbelt and stepped out of the cab. Intrigued as to whether Madara would actually try to follow through on his threat, Tobirama followed suit. They met at the front of the truck and Madara stepped directly into his personal space and looked up. There were a few inches of height difference, with him being the shorter one, but Madara hardly seemed perturbed by it. Tobirama, not willing to allow the other to think that he was intimidated, leaned down a bit, being sure to get right into the other’s face.

Tobirama felt Madara's hands on the collar of his shirt, and before he could move, he was slammed against the hood of the truck. His side throbbed from the hit, but his adrenaline immediately hit. He knew better than to be pinned by his opponent. He didn’t have to think as his hand shot up around Madara's arm before his grip could tighten anymore than it already was, and his fist connected with the other man’s jaw.

It was a hard hit. It caused Tobirama’s fist to throb, so there was no telling how much Madara's face was hurting. He watched as Madara's head snapped back and felt the grip on his shirt slacken enough for Tobirama to push the other man away. Madara stumbled back a step, but he wasn’t gone for long. Tobirama felt a hand around his neck and his breath caught.

He was paralyzed. He wanted to fight. He was screaming at his body to respond, but it didn’t move. The fear of that one sensation was enough to cause him to completely shut down. Madara must have realized that there was something serious wrong, because he didn’t put any pressure into the grip, but that didn’t matter. The touch was gone a moment later, but it was too late.

Flashbacks of insane laughter and so much _pain_ were playing through his mind like some sort of sick movie. It was so vivid. He could almost feel the sting of a dull knife digging into the skin on his cheeks and chin. The flesh didn’t give easily under such a blade, and it made the sensation so much worse. The scars on his stomach throbbed. He could feel the burn marks starting to ache again, as though a hot iron had just been placed there.

“Senju!”

Tobirama gasped as he felt a stinging sensation in his cheek, snapping him out of his horrific daydream. He looked up at Madara with wide eyes, suddenly feeling small. He had the nearly overwhelming urge to curl on himself and just sink into the road. He actually felt himself beginning to hunch over.

“Calm down,” Madara said, though this time his voice was gentle. “You need to calm down, Senju.” He felt a hand on his shoulder and jerked back.

“Don’t touch me!” he wanted the sentence to come out as commanding and angry. It came out instead as weak and pleading. The hand was immediately gone

“I…” Madara trailed off, his voice still soft and uncertain. Tobirama wearily looked up at him, grateful for the distraction. It was probably a bit stupid for being so thankful about it, considering that it was Madara's fault in the first place that he was so.

“I didn’t…” Madara tried again. “I didn’t realize that…I shouldn’t have lost my temper the way that I did. I’m very sorry about that.” Tobirama felt an arm on his shoulder again. He felt a bit calmer, however, and appreciated the gentle touch. He closed his eyes and grounded himself to that sensation.

“It’s fine,” Tobirama managed. “I lost my temper too. We were both being foolish.” Tobirama straightened and looked up at him. He still felt like crawling somewhere and hiding, but he didn’t. It was important for him to stand up and be strong, to face his fears. It wasn’t a world where one could be weak anymore.

Madara gave a soft push and Tobirama didn’t protest. He allowed Madara to turn him around and lead him toward the passenger’s side of the truck. He opened the door for him and gestured for him to get inside. “Go ahead,” Madara told him quietly. “I’ll drive the rest of the way to the colony. You should rest a little. You’re shaken up, and you need to be constantly vigilant when we’re out here, as you probably already know.”

“Yeah,” Tobirama said faintly. There was a part of him, deep in the back of his mind, that knew he needed to push Madara away. He knew that letting the Uchiha be friendly toward him, even once, without lashing out, would have consequences. He was too shaken to care, however. He needed Madara there. He was friendly, and Tobirama needed him.

Madara shut his door and walked around to the driver side of the truck and got inside. Instead of starting the truck, Madara just leaned forward and banged his head on the steering wheel. It wasn’t hard enough to leave any lasting marks, but it was hard enough to make a loud noise.

“I feel like an ass now,” he muttered. “I…dammit, I’m such an asshole.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tobirama replied just as quietly. “It’s over now, and you…you didn’t mean it.” He closed his eyes, quickly getting sick of the tension in the air. It was uncomfortable, and he felt like squirming. His stoic mask was gone, and he was so far out of his comfort zone that he was unsure if he would be able to look at Madara in the eyes again after this mission.

He heard the truck start and opened his eyes to watch them take off again.

“Get some sleep,” Madara muttered. “It’ll do you some good.”

Tobirama felt like arguing, but his adrenaline had worn off for the most part, and he did feel tired. He leaned his head over to the side, pressing his face against the cool glass. It actually felt quite good, and he felt really comfortable. His eyes fluttered shut. Maybe he would sleep for a little while. He would wake up soon. He was certain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you liked the chapter! What do you think about Tobirama and Madara's relationship now? How do you think things will progress from here on out? Also, Kushina is in labor. How do you think Minato will react to this when he finds out about little Naruto?


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madara and Tobirama let people know that they're alright. Izuna and Minato notice something else in Suna.

Madara was…concerned. He realized that there was no other word to use to describe the feeling that had settled uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach as he turned and looked at Tobirama, who was sleeping not-so-soundly in the passenger’s seat of the truck that was heading directly to the village. The way that the man had freaked out so badly had unnerved Madara, and the feeling of guilt still hadn’t gone away, leaving a horrible taste in his mouth. Sure, Tobirama was surly and standoffish, but any fool could tell that he wasn’t a bad person. He cared too much for the people that he viewed as family to be a monster like some of the people that lived outside of the walls were.

Speaking of monsters, Madara was certain that Tobirama had run into at least one. Whoever it had been had to have been awful to leave such a lasting impression on him. Madara wondered if his mental scarring and the physical scars had come from the same event. For him to be so traumatized, Madara was willing to bet just about anything that he had received both from the same experience. The scars that Madara had seen had been gruesome. Some gouges, others light from shallow cuts. Others were crooked and wide as though a blunt object had torn off chunks of skin. The burns at the lower parts of his stomach had been awful as well. Madara wondered if Tobirama realized how lucky he was to be alive.

Tobirama was hardly stupid, Madara decided. The other man knew what a miracle it was. It was probably why Tobirama had been so adamant about staying away from places that screamed _bad news_ to him. Madara understood that sentiment, but all the places that Madara had the misfortune of walking into looked as though they were death traps and housing untold horrors that were out to get only him. He had eventually gotten used to the uneasy feelings that his body had always tried to assault him with and pushed on anyway. Obviously, Tobirama had a stronger sense of what places were stupid to go inside. Next time, he definitely would be taking the other man’s word for it. Part of Madara wanted to profusely apologize for making Tobirama go through what he had just gone through, but there was another part of him that refused to make another apology. He’d already said that he was sorry once, and he didn’t know if his pride could take him doing it again. He never apologized to anyone, and he hoped that Tobirama had managed to figure that out and realized how heartfelt the gesture was.

The roads were long, and the drive was getting more and more tedious by the hour. The detour that Tobirama had taken them through had led them off course by what Madara figured was about three hours more driving down backroads and dirt pathways. Their families were already going to be worried and upset. Madara had wanted to get back to them as soon as he could to assure them all that he and Tobirama were both alright, even if they were a little beaten up and bruised.

“Where are we?” Madara jumped at the unexpected noise but managed to keep control of the truck on the slick, muddied pathway that he was rolling down at the moment.

“Finally decided to join the land of the living?” Madara teased lightly. He spared a glance over at Tobirama and saw the other man rubbing his eyes, as though trying to get the sleep out of them. He looked back at the road and felt Tobirama’s gaze boring through the side of his head. He sighed, realizing that the other man wasn’t going to respond without Madara answering his first question.

“We’re maybe an hour out from the colony,” Madara replied. “Since you turned around to throw off any potential pursuers, I decided to make another detour myself. We’re going in through the east side of the area. I think we’re going to pass Suna soon.”

“Isn’t that where the other expedition was supposed to happen?” Tobirama asked, clearly completely awake now if he was beginning to connect dots.

“Yeah,” Madara admitted. “Izuna was in that expedition. If it’s alright with you, I thought we might be able to stop by and let them know that we’re alive. We were supposed to be back before they left, after all, and I’m sure that they’re all worried about us.”

“Even that little silver-haired brat?” Tobirama questioned humorously. “He’s so perpetually gloomy, I’m not sure that anyone could tell if he was actually worried about something or not.”

“You think so?” Madara questioned with a laugh. “Let something happen to his friend, Iruka. He’s very open about how worried he is when he thinks that Iruka might be hurt or in danger somehow.”

Tobirama looked like he wanted to make a comment but decided to keep it to himself at the last minute. Madara let that be and just looked out at the road with a small smirk, feeling perfectly content. Being around Tobirama when he was like this was pleasant. He felt lighter and more carefree. He couldn’t feel any underlying anger or tension. Sure, he was certain that Tobirama had a mask pulled firmly over his face, but it wasn’t as annoying. Madara could see through it, if only a little bit, and saw someone that was weary and scared instead of just an insufferable asshole. He felt as though he was sitting with a human instead of some emotionless robot. It was refreshing and reassuring, since humanity was getting harder and harder to find anymore.

“So, was that a _yes_?” Madara questioned after a few heartbeats of silence.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Tobirama allowed. “Minato is there with Izuna and Kakashi. I’m sure that he’d like to know that I’m fine. Not to mention that I can tell Kushina and the others that I saw him and let them know how he’s doing.”

“Alright,” Madara said, changing his mental GPS to Suna instead of Konoha. “We’ll be there fairly soon, so no going back to sleep.”

“I’m not some child,” Tobirama grumbled. “I know when to stay awake.”

Madara cut his eyes to the side to get a quick glance at Tobirama and saw that the other man had his arms crossed over his chest, frowning out the windshield, as though he was… _pouting_. Oh, that was just priceless. Madara wanted to toss back a smartass remark, if only to make him more upset, but there was another part of him that was enjoying the view…perhaps a bit more than was necessary, but he didn’t care. It had been a while since he’d been truly amused, and he would allow himself to indulge in a bit of fun. That never hurt anyone.

 

Suna was a small town with modestly sized houses lining the outskirts. A familiar SUV was parked near the yard of one of the larger houses on the entering street. Madara was willing to bet that they had parked first and walked toward one of the other streets. It was a good plan to keep the element of surprise on their side against any of the infected that could be roaming around. Madara wanted to do the same and keep up the surprise, especially since they were going to be there for a few more days and unsettling the infected that were bound to still be in the area was a bad idea. He and Tobirama weren’t in the best of shape, however, and neither of them needed to be walking around for that long. It would only cause them more problems.

So, Madara drove forward, being sure to keep the truck at a sedate pace as he and Tobirama searched for their comrades. Madara figured that they wouldn’t be too far away from the SUV. It was impractical to have a vehicle so far away that one couldn’t reach it quickly and efficiently in the case of an emergency. The first couple of roads that were closest to the truck proved to be duds, but the third road, Madara saw an opened door and a lawn with two fresh bodies lying close to the road, one on either side of the driveway, resting on the overgrown, dead grass. He pulled over to the side of the road and shut the vehicle off.

Tobirama looked at him questioningly, and Madara silently pointed to the house that was across the street. Tobirama nodded and unbuckled. They both stepped out of the truck and quietly shut the door. Tobirama walked around the truck, and Madara patiently waited for him to get there before he moved again. Tobirama was sore, much like Madara was, and he didn’t blame the other man for moving slowly. Madara didn’t feel like moving any quicker than he was.

They made it across the road and walked into the house. Part of Madara wanted to make some noise to let whoever was inside of the house know that they were there, but another, smarter part of him knew that being too loud would also garner some unwanted attention.

As soon as they looked inside, it was obvious that the house had been gone through. Two more bodies were strewn on the ground, though there was barely any blood from either corpse. Useless artifacts were scattered around the floor, but Madara also saw a couple of piles of goods that would be of use in the center of the living room that they had walked in on. Clothes, blankets, jackets, etcetera were all grouped together haphazardly. Madara turned toward the kitchen and saw that canned goods were sitting on the counter tops and a few bowls and pans were sitting out too. This entire neighborhood was a godsend if the rest of the homes were this promising. Supplies went bad after so much use, and fresh everything would be convenient.

Tobirama was close enough to him for Madara to feel his body heat. It was disconcerting since there wasn’t a dire reason for him to be so close. Part of Madara wanted to tell him to back off and respect personal boundaries, but another part of him liked that someone was so close to him. It was comforting to feel someone so clearly alive within reach. He was so caught up in Tobirama’s proximity that he jumped when he heard Tobirama whisper in his ear. It had never occurred to Madara—which it really should have—that Tobirama probably had a reason to be so close.

“They’re in the back,” he murmured, his warm breath ghosting across Madara's ear and neck. He had to fight back a physical reaction to the sensation.

“Yeah,” he managed to say. “Let’s go.”

They slowly walked through the living room, being sure to step over the bodies as they walked. It was a bit harder to walk across the junk that was scattered around the ground and not make any noise, but it wasn’t impossible. Madara and Tobirama had been doing these things for too long for it to be too much of an issue, even in their conditions. The hallway was connected to the living room, and Madara caught sight of an opened door before they even made it there.

“It’s Madara and Tobirama,” Madara called back, knowing that it was foolish to sneak up on them. It would either result in a near miss, or someone was going to get hurt. Neither sounded very good, so a warning was best.

Silence lasted for all of half a second before Madara heard footsteps. His younger brother was out in the hallway a heartbeat later and was on Madara within the next moment. He winced at the pain in his shoulder as Izuna wrapped him in a bearhug, squeezing him tightly. Madara fought back a whimper as Tobirama himself pushed Izuna off.

“The hell do you think you’re doing, Senju?” Izuna hissed at him.

“Your brother is hurt,” Tobirama said calmly. “He doesn’t need to open his wounds anymore than the already are.”

Izuna’s eyes widened as the other two came out of the room. “What happened to him?” Izuna demanded. “Were you that incompetent? You let him get hurt, or were you the reason that he—”

“Izuna,” Madara cut him off sharply. “You were just preaching about how I need to be friendlier toward the newcomers.”

“But—”

“There are no buts,” Madara snapped. “He’s not the reason that I’m injured. He’s injured too. He saved my life a couple of times. It…it was just a really bad mission. We’re lucky to be alive.”

Izuna’s scowl softened at the explanation and he turned toward Tobirama. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “He’s more important to me than just about anything. Thank you for saving him.”

“Don’t mention it,” Tobirama said. “he had my back too. Like he said. It was just a really bad mission.”

“It’s nice to know that you guys are in one piece,” Minato’s voice permeated through the air.

Tobirama looked over at the man that he considered his younger brother and gave a weak smile and a curt nod. “It’s nice to be in one piece too. Madara wanted to stop by and let you all know that we were alive.”

“I’m glad both of you came,” Izuna said. “Not only is it nice to see that you’re alive, but we have something that you could do for us.”

“What?” Madara asked suspiciously. He’d be damned if he was going to do anymore grunt work after his entire mission had gone to shit. He was going back to the colony for the next month and hiding behind the fence until he could regain his dignity and nerve.

“Kakashi,” Minato called back toward the opened door quietly. “Why don’t you come out and introduce our colony’s newest member.”

There was silence for a few moments before Madara heard footsteps. A moment later, Kakashi appeared in the hallway, holding something in his arms. Madara felt his heart drop, thinking that he was carrying a baby. The light was too low for Madara to tell exactly what Kakashi was carrying, but that was the first thing to come to mind. Then he heard a quiet whimper from something that wasn’t human.

Madara blinked uncertainly as he was able to make out the sight of a pug that couldn’t have been more than a couple of months old. It was filthy and underfed, but he seemed to be content in Kakashi’s arms. The teenager looked uncertain, as though he didn’t know what to think about the puppy.

“I know that you can’t stay long,” Izuna said, “but I figure that when you go, you could take this little guy back with you.”

Madara wanted to argue with his brother. He wasn’t one for animal cruelty, but he was certain that they didn’t have the means to support something that was unable to potentially ever give back to their community. A dog would be nothing but a hinderance and a way to squander their supplies. He held his tongue, however when he saw the way that Kakashi was holding it. It was a protective embrace. He might have been uncertain of how to feel about the dog, but he subconsciously wanted to protect it. He wanted to take care of it. Madara couldn’t take that away from him. Not something that was already beginning to reflect on him positively.

“Alright,” Madara found himself sighing. “Yeah. Sure, we can take him back.”

“I wasn’t aware that your colony took in domesticated pets,” Tobirama mused from behind him. Madara heard no judgement in his words, and, when he turned to look, he only saw curiosity in his gaze. “I haven’t seen any around.”

“That’s because we don’t…not normally,” Madara replied. “Of course,” he said quickly, before it came out as him not wanting the dog to go, “we’ve never come across a puppy before either. They’re innocent, and I suppose they have just as much right to a fighting chance as anything else.”

“That makes sense,” Tobirama agreed, though Madara sensed that he had another opinion on the matter, but he kept it to himself. He might not have known Kakashi very well, but it was clear that he was intelligent enough to understand how good it would be for him. “So,” he looked over at Kakashi and the dog with a thoughtful expression. Madara followed his gaze and saw that Kakashi was staring back at him, “What do you plan on naming him?”

Madara immediately turned back around to look at Tobirama. The _tone_ that the man had used…Madara had never heard it before. It was softer, kinder, and gentler than he had ever addressed Madara with. He sounded like someone that Madara might enjoy being around. Tobirama turned back to him with a raised eyebrow, clearing questioning if Madara's sanity was intact. Madara immediately scowled at him, upset with himself at the thought alone and turned back to look at Kakashi, who’s expression had become thoughtful.

“I don’t know,” Kakashi admitted. “Doesn’t really matter to me. It’s just a dog.”

“Well,” Tobirama said, “the dog seems quite taken with you. It’s only fair that you name him. I think it’d be a bit weird telling Sarutobi that we brought back a dog and hadn’t bothered to name it.”

Madara seriously doubted that would be the thing that Sarutobi questioned. He would probably be wondering if they had lost their minds. Izuna, like the loving younger brother that he was, was putting all the dirty work on him. He knew that Madara would do it because they both cared deeply for Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed, conveying with no uncertainty that he thought that the entire thing was just stupid. He did answer, however, probably just to humor Tobirama more than anything else, not that the younger Senju brother seemed to have a problem with his attitude. “How about Pakkun?” Kakashi questioned.

“Huh,” Madara marveled as he looked at the dog. His eyes had adjusted to the low lighting fairly quickly and he was able to make out the unimpressed expression of the puppy. Its face seemed to be black and brown, but it was hard to tell if that was actually the case from the filth that covered it like a blanket. “That’s actually a good name for him.”

Kakashi looked down at the dog and Madara saw his confused expression soften a small amount. It was as though he liked the dog, but he didn’t want to be caught admiring it. It was endearing in a way that Madara hadn’t viewed Kakashi in nearly five years. It reminded him exactly why he liked this kid.

“You two are really banged up,” Izuna said. “As nice as it was to see both of you, why don’t you two go ahead back to Konoha?” He leaned against the wall of the hallway and looked at both of them with a practiced eye. Anyone that did frequent runs could tell when a couple of people had been wrecked to the point of barely standing upright. “That is counting on the fact that one of you is in good enough shape to drive, of course.”

“We’re sore and tired,” Madara admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He winced as his appendage grazed across a sore point. He just ignored the pain, however, and instead wondered where the bump had come from. After how much he’d been slung around in the past twenty-four hours, there wasn’t any telling where half of the sore spots on his body had come from. “I think that we’re alright for the trip back.”

“I think that we might need some more fuel before we go anywhere,” Tobirama said. “Suna wasn’t very far out of the way from Konoha, but we had to take a detour, and it burned more of our fuel than we had in our contingency fund.” Madara turned and looked at him gratefully. He hadn’t even considered that potential issue, which was literally life or death at this point. A part of him felt disappointed in himself for not thinking of it.

“What happened to you guys?” Kakashi demanded. “You’re both hurt, and you had to take a long enough detour to use up contingency fuel. What did you run into?”

“It was a group of psychos,” Madara said. “They wanted our equipment, and us completely out of the picture. Senju and I barely escaped with our lives.

“It’s getting worse out here,” Izuna murmured. “It might prove to be a good idea if you talk to Sarutobi about this when you get back. This is the point where we need to consider some important things. We might need to stop inviting newcomers into our colonies. It’s getting more dangerous, and no stranger’s life is worth the lives of the people that I care about.”

“I’ll take that into consideration,” Madara replied. Izuna was right, but he had a feeling that Sarutobi wouldn’t be swayed. He wanted to help everyone out there that needed it.

“It’s not something that needs to be taken into consideration,” Tobirama replied. “Minato can vouch for me on this. Outside isn’t something that is to be taken lightly. People outside of Konoha are getting stronger and more dangerous. Instead of stretching yourselves out so thin, Sarutobi needs to consider leaving outside alone, and start working on making his people stronger. If you don’t talk to him about it, then I will.”

“You do understand that the only reason that you’re here with me and that your family is in Konoha right now is because of Sarutobi’s policy about outsiders, right?” Madara asked.

“We do understand that,” Minato said. “The reason that he’s saying this is because we appreciate the fact that you stuck your neck out for us. Like Izuna just said, however, no stranger’s life is worth the lives of those we care about. It was getting to the point where the groups of people that we came across were more likely to be foes than friends. I can tell that it was becoming the norm for you guys too, if the way that Izuna and Madara reacted to coming across our group was an indication. What happens if one of your scouts comes across a group next time, and they’ve got bad intentions? We were civil and asked questions. The next group might not.”

Madara wanted to childishly point out that Tobirama hadn’t been very civil when they had first met, and he was still alive and in relatively good shape. He held his impulse back, however, knowing that it would only lead to a childish argument between them that would probably last until they got back to the colony, if not after.

Madara sighed and looked over at Tobirama, who was staring up at him expectantly. His lips were tipped upward a bit, morphing into a hint of a triumphant smile. The man took too much pride in being right all the time. “Fine,” he relented. “I see where you three are coming from with this.” He looked over at Izuna. “I’ll tell Sarutobi about it when I get back.”

 

 

He felt funny as he watched Madara and Tobirama drive away. He was happy to know that they were alright. They had been weighing on his mind the entire day, and it was a relief to know that they were on their way home. It was something else. He felt as though something important was happening, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

 _Oh well,_ he thought as he turned back around and began walking toward the street that they had started their search on. _Nothing to do about it now._

“What was that?” Izuna asked. He was walking next to Minato, who turned to look at his companion. Izuna had stopped, and his head was snapped to the right sharply. Minato paused and followed his gaze. He saw what looked to be a small head of blond hair disappear behind a building. He sighed and scratched the back of his head uncertainly.

“No sure,” he said. “Go back to Kakashi, and I’ll go and see what it was about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super late update...life is...well, it's life.  
> I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you all for reading and feel free to share your thoughts!


End file.
